He whistled softly and muttered to himself, "Business picks up from now
on." He thought of Matthew's marriage and whistled again.
* * * * *
From that time on there were frequent reports in the daily press of
white women giving birth to black babies. In some cases, of course, the
white women had recently become white but the blame for the tar-brushed
offspring in the public mind always rested on the shoulders of the
father, or rather, of the husband. The number of cases continued to
increase. All walks of life were represented. For the first time the
prevalence of sexual promiscuity was brought home to the thinking
people of America. Hospital authorities and physicians had known about
it in a general way but it had been unknown to the public.
The entire nation became alarmed. Hundreds of thousands of people,
North and South, flocked into the Knights of Nordica. The real white
people were panic-stricken, especially in Dixie. There was no way,
apparently, of telling a real Caucasian from an imitation one. Every
stranger was viewed with suspicion, which had a very salutory effect on
the standard of sex morality in the United States. For the first time
since 1905, chastity became a virtue. The number of petting parties,
greatly augmented by the development of aviation, fell off amazingly.
One must play safe, the girls argued.
The holidays of traveling salesmen, business men and fraternal
delegates were made less pleasant than of yore. The old orgiastic
days in the big cities seemed past for all time. It also suddenly
began to dawn upon some men that the pretty young thing they had met
at the seashore and wanted to rush to the altar might possibly be a
whitened Negress; and young women were almost as suspicious. Rapid-fire
courtships and gin marriages declined. Matrimony at last began to be
approached with caution. Nothing like this situation had been known
since the administration of Grover Cleveland.
Black-No-More, Incorporated, was not slow to seize upon this
opportunity to drum up more business. With 100 sanitariums going full
blast from Coast to Coast, it now announced in full page advertisements
in the daily press that it was establishing lying-in hospitals in the
principal cities where all prospective mothers could come to have their
babies, and that whenever a baby was born black or mulatto, it would
immediately be given the 24-hour treatment that permanently turned
black infants white. The country breathed easier, particularly the four
million Negroes who had become free because white.
In a fortnight Bunny Brown returned. Over a quart of passable rye, the
two friends discussed his mission.
"What about Licorice?" asked Matthew.
"Useless. You ought to give him the gate. He's taking your jack but he
isn't doing a thing but getting your checks and eating regularly. His
followers are scarcer than Jews in the Vatican."
"Well, were you able to talk business with any of the Negro leaders?"
"Couldn't find any of them. Their offices are all closed and they've
moved away from the places where they used to live. Broke, I suppose."
"Did you inquire for them around Harlem?"
"What was the use? All of the Negroes around Harlem nowadays are folks
that have just come there to get white; the rest of them left the race
a long time ago. Why, Boy, darkies are as hard to find on Lenox Avenue
now as they used to be in Tudor City."
"What about the Negro newspapers? Are any of them running still?"
"Nope, they're a thing of the past. Shines are too busy getting white
to bother reading about lynching, crime and peonage," said Bunny.
"Well," said Matthew, "it looks as if old Santop Licorice is the only
one of the old gang left."
"Yeah, and he won't be black long, now that you're cutting him off the
payroll."
"I think he could make more money staying black."
"How do you figure that out?" asked Bunny.
"Well, the dime museums haven't closed down, you know," said Matthew.