1942: cotton harvests, new centers and the Korematsu conviction

Vol. 15, No. 16, September 17, 1942. 8 pages. View this issue

The World War II incarceration (often called internment) shaped most of this eight-page issue. The front page, with Larry Tajiri reporting, told of a War Department call for evacuees to volunteer for the Arizona cotton harvest, and an editorial urged them to answer it. Other stories followed transfers from Tanforan and Stockton to new centers in Utah and Arkansas, and a judge granting land in Millard County for the Topaz center. Fred T. Korematsu was convicted in federal court, and his attorney filed an appeal. Also on page one, Professor Blake Clark wrote that Hawaii faced no fifth column danger.

Elsewhere, Saburo Kido wrote on labor mediation in the centers, Bill Hosokawa on propaganda and sacrifice, and Fred Fertig on Japanese American progress before Pearl Harbor. Community pages covered Poston residents making furniture from scrap, Tule Lake’s first harvest and Labor Day fete, and the fashion column Nisei Woman.

What’s in this issue

National

• No Danger of Japanese Fifth Column in Hawaii, Says Clark, page 1. Professor Blake Clark, writing in The New Republic, denies rumors of sabotage by Japanese in Hawaii. He reports that Nisei actively defended the territory on December 7 and that the FBI found no acts of sabotage.
• Section of Canadian Road Named in Honor Of Elderly Evacuee, page 2. A road cut in British Columbia was named Onodera Cut in memory of Minomatsu Onodera, a 62-year-old evacuee killed in a slide while working on the road.

Incarceration & Redress

• Call Evacuees to Save Vital Cotton Crop, by Larry Tajiri, page 1. The War Department asked evacuees of Japanese ancestry to volunteer for the harvest of Arizona long staple cotton, a vital military material. General DeWitt authorized their use in Military Area No. 1 under conditions of voluntary labor and prevailing wages.
• Gen. DeWitt Asked by Stimson to Permit Use of Evacuees, page 1. Secretary of War Stimson wired General DeWitt that Arizona long staple cotton is essential to war production and that labor shortages required using voluntary evacuee labor. DeWitt’s authorization followed this urgent military request.
• Opening of New Utah, Arkansas Centers Announced By Army, page 2. The Army announced transfers of about 4200 evacuees from Tanforan and Stockton assembly centers to new relocation centers in Utah and Arkansas. The centers each have a capacity of 10,000 persons.
• Santa Anitans Start Movement To Colorado, page 2. The Army ordered 3,000 evacuees from Santa Anita Assembly Center transferred to the Granada Relocation Center in Colorado. The move begins September 17 in groups of about 500.
• Federal Court Convicts Nisei In Test Case, page 2. Fred T. Korematsu was convicted in federal court of illegally entering a military zone and placed on five years probation. ACLU attorney Wayne Collins filed an appeal arguing the exclusion orders were unconstitutional.
• Native Sons Favor Movement to Expel All Japanese from U.S., page 2. Lloyd J. Cosgrove, grand president of the Native Sons of the Golden West, called for removing all Japanese from California and the United States. He said the group admits only white members.
• Arizona Plans Call on Evacuee Labor To Save Vital Cotton, page 3. Army officials announced that volunteer evacuee labor from Poston and Gila River would harvest Arizona cotton under War Relocation Authority direction. Colonel Bendetsen said cotton is as vital to the war effort as rubber.
• Army Arrests Senator Abe, page 3. Hawaii territorial Senator Sanji Abe was held in custodial detention by the Army after being arrested for possessing a Japanese flag. The charges were dismissed and he publicly burned the flag.
• Procedure Set For Overnight Center Visits, page 3. The WRA issued a directive allowing blood relatives and certain non-Japanese family members to make overnight visits to relocation centers. Visits are subject to project director conditions and center regulations.
• West Idaho Officials Discuss Curfew on Japanese Residents, page 3. Local officials in western Idaho and eastern Oregon discussed imposing curfews and travel permit requirements on persons of Japanese ancestry. A JACL official called the restrictions extra-legal and harmful to harvest work.
• Court Convicts Kanai for Army Order Violation, page 8. Lincoln Seiichi Kanai was sentenced to six months in federal prison for violating military orders freezing Japanese American travel. In court he defended his loyalty and American principles.

Community

• Federal Judge Grants Land For Relocation Center, page 1. Judge Tillman D. Johnson granted the government immediate possession of over 17,000 acres in Millard County for the Topaz relocation center. The land will house the central Utah center.
• Workers’ Assembly Holds First Meet At Manzanar, page 2. The first meeting of the Manzanar Work Corps Assembly discussed and amended a proposed constitution. A by-laws committee was appointed.
• Labor Mediation Machinery Needed, by Saburo Kido, page 2. Kido argues that centers need a mediation board and cooling-off period before strikes. He notes that strikes can cause serious losses during harvest seasons.
• First Tule Lake Crop Harvested, page 2. Tule Lake colonists began harvesting vegetables from the center’s 2500-acre farm. Shipments were sent to other centers and sold at regular market prices.
• Manzanar-Produced Tea Sent to WRA Industrial Chief, page 3. The Manzanar Production division sent tea made from a special mulberry leaf to Roy Kimmel in Washington. Three posters by evacuee artists were also sent.
• Nisei Woman: Center Fashions, page 6. The fashion column offers practical advice on accessories, shoes, sweaters, and hosiery suited to camp life. It recommends durable styles and suggests care tips for leather shoes.
• Ken Tashiro Will Edit Gila Paper, page 6. A new newspaper edited by Ken Tashiro began publication at the Gila River center, replacing the Gila Activities News. It joins other center papers as a source of information.
• Chasing After Trains, by Teiko Ishida, page 6. Ishida reports on JACL staff efforts to meet evacuee transfer trains despite schedule changes. She notes staff members met groups from San Jose, Mountain View, and Merced.
• Vagaries, page 6. The column covers miscellaneous items including a Florida town’s history and a Crisis magazine article on the evacuation. It also mentions the Nisei soldier and birth announcements.
• Poston Colonists Use Scrap To Overcome Material Shortage, by Franklyn Sugiyama, page 7. Poston evacuees devised ingenious furniture, fixtures, cooling systems, and decorations from scrap materials due to war-born shortages. The article profiles many creative projects around the camp.
• Soldier Weds Nisei Sweetheart In Texas City, page 7. Private M. Ibara and Yuki Nishimura were married by a justice of the peace in El Paso, Texas. Ibara said he was proud to be an American and ready to fight for his country.
• Progress Has Been Expected Sugar Company Has Evacuees for Harvest Work, page 7. The Utah-Idaho Sugar Company is contacting relocation centers to recruit about 3,000 evacuees for the beet harvest. The company already employs 2,000 evacuees in field operations.
• Fashion Show Held At Tule Lake By Sewing Classes, page 8. Over 200 girls from Tule Lake sewing classes displayed sport clothes, maternity dresses, and evening wear in a fashion show. The event featured music and flower arrangements.
• Advance Guard Arrives at Central Utah, page 8. A vanguard of 215 evacuees arrived at the Central Utah relocation center near Delta to prepare housing for the 9,100 colonists. Arrivals from the San Francisco area began September 15.
• Queen Shiz Reigns Over Tule Lake Holiday Fete, page 8. Labor Day festivities at Tule Lake featured a parade led by Queen Shizuye Tamaki and a flag dedication. Fifteen thousand colonists attended and eleven World War veterans participated.
• Fort Lupton Team Wins Colorado State Baseball Tourney, page 8. The Fort Lupton team won Colorado’s Japanese baseball league tournament, held for war relief. The event raised $100 but local halls refused to host a tournament dance.
• Koji Ariyoshi Weds Taeko Ito in Lone Pine Ceremony, page 8. Koji Ariyoshi and Taeko Ito applied for a marriage license at Independence and planned a wedding at Manzanar. Ariyoshi is an active member of the furlough committee.
• Three Manzanar Residents Jailed On Burglary Charge, page 8. Frank Fukuchi, Saburo Yoshida, and Mas Kikuta were convicted of burglarizing a Manzanar warehouse and stealing cigarettes. They were given jail sentences.

JACL

• Timely Topics, by Saburo Kido, page 2. Kido praises the National JACL staff for their work under low pay and reports on Pacific Citizen subscription growth. He also comments on the efforts of the Eastern representatives Masaoka and Inagaki.

Commentary

• President Roosevelt Statement to Reassure Nisei, page 3. The American Civil Liberties Union sent a letter to President Roosevelt asking for a public declaration of policy toward Americans of Japanese descent. The letter stresses citizen loyalty, evacuation sacrifices, and an end to discrimination.
• Cotton for War, page 4. The editorial urges evacuees to volunteer for the Arizona cotton harvest as a visible demonstration of loyalty. It stresses that the harvest is a War Department project vital to producing war implements.
• Free vs. Slave Labor, page 4. The editorial cites the Utah Labor News condemnation of Governor Maw’s proposal to conscript American-born Japanese into labor. It agrees that free labor, not forced labor, is the American way.
• The Rumor Mills, page 4. The editorial warns that false rumors of beatings and killings of Nisei leaders are spreading through the centers. It calls for investigation of their sources to protect community morale.
• Curfew for Citizens, page 4. The editorial condemns local curfews and travel restrictions imposed on Japanese Americans in Idaho and Oregon as exceeding legal authority. It also criticizes tire rationing boards refusing tires to Japanese American farmers.
• Just Treatment Is Best Propaganda, page 4. The editorial examines OWI Japanese-language propaganda newsletters and questions their effectiveness. It argues that fair treatment of Japanese Americans is the strongest pro-American message.
• From the Frying Pan, by Bill Hosokawa, page 4. Hosokawa argues that American propaganda aimed at Japan and Asia must be perfected and that fair treatment of Japanese Americans supports that goal. He says the coming propaganda struggle in Asia will be vital.
• The Lancer: Work Furloughs May Be First Step in Relocation, by Tad Uyeno, page 5. Uyeno argues that Japanese Americans’ supposed unassimilability was caused by Caucasian exclusion. He says WRA work furloughs could help relocation by letting Americans get to know them.
• Tojo Isn’t Fooling, Americans Must Sacrifice to Win, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Hosokawa, drawing on a letter published in Life, urges Americans to make necessary sacrifices to defeat Japan. He argues that Japan is vulnerable but will only be beaten if Americans are prepared to pay the price.
• What’s Your Name?, page 6. A book review note mentions Louis Adamic’s work featuring Charley Kikuchi and his proposal to train U.S.-born Japanese for leadership in postwar Japan. It also references Pearl Buck’s similar suggestion.
• What’s Your Name? Let’s Get Together, Urges Little Esteban, by Kenny Murase, page 7. In a column, Little Esteban urges Poston residents to set aside divisions between old and new arrivals. He argues that the community must plan for self-reliance and shared responsibility.

In-Depth

• The Japanese in America: There Has Been Progress, by Fred Fertig, page 5. Fertig reviews the progress of Japanese Americans before Pearl Harbor, noting declining anti-Japanese agitation and growing Nisei assimilation. He argues that the war set back this progress but that the foundation remains for future advancement.

Military & Veterans

• Maritime Workers Seek Releases for War Work, page 8. Maritime workers at Manzanar organized to seek release of Japanese American seamen from relocation centers for Atlantic and Great Lakes shipping. Paul Higa’s experience as a navigator illustrates the need.

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