The form of this immorality,
however, is very seldom that of prostitution, and less fre-
quently that of illegitimacy than one would imagine. Rather,
it takes the form of separation and desertion after a family
group has been formed. The number of separated persons is
thirty-five to the thousand,--a very large number. It would
of course be unfair to compare this number with divorce
statistics, for many of these separated women are in reality
widowed, were the truth known, and in other cases the
separation is not permanent. Nevertheless, here lies the seat
of greatest moral danger. There is little or no prostitution
among these Negroes, and over three-fourths of the families, as
found by house-to-house investigation, deserve to be classed
as decent people with considerable regard for female chastity.
To be sure, the ideas of the mass would not suit New
England, and there are many loose habits and notions. Yet
the rate of illegitimacy is undoubtedly lower than in Austria
or Italy, and the women as a class are modest. The plague-
spot in sexual relations is easy marriage and easy separation.
This is no sudden development, nor the fruit of Emancipa-
tion.
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