Manpower, the new combat team and the fight over relocation, 1943

Vol. 16, No. 11, March 18, 1943. 8 pages. View this issue

Japanese American labor and service during the war dominated this eight-page issue. JACL representatives Mike Masaoka, Joe Masaoka and Larry Tajiri met War Manpower Commission officials in Denver about using the skills of people held in the camps. Elsewhere in the paper, the Army raised Hawaii’s quota for the new Japanese American combat team to more than 2500 volunteers, and the induction date was set back. A Senate subcommittee urged an early end to War Relocation Authority centers after visiting Rohwer, and the Wartime Civil Control Administration was dissolved.

The editorial page marked one year of the WRA and praised the new Pacific Coast Committee on American Principles and Fair Play. Bill Hosokawa wrote about resettlement from both sides of the fence, and Peter Wood reviewed a proposed economic bill of rights. Readers will also find news from Poston, Jerome, Heart Mountain, Topaz and Amache, plus reports from South Dakota, Canada and Utah.

What’s in this issue

Incarceration & Redress

• Role of Japanese Americans in Meeting War Manpower Problems Discussed in Denver, by P.C. Staff, page 1. JACL representatives met with War Manpower Commission officials in Denver to discuss employment of Japanese Americans in the intermountain region. Officials acknowledged evacuee skills and noted that housing shortages deter urban industrial employment.
• Wartime Civil Control Agency Dissolved by Lt. Gen. DeWitt, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Wartime Civil Control Administration, which supervised the evacuation of 110,422 persons of Japanese ancestry, was dissolved. Its remaining duties will pass to the general staff civil affairs division.
• Subcommittee Urges Speeding Depopulation of Centers to Avoid New ”Indian Problem”, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A Senate Military Affairs subcommittee after visiting Rohwer urged an early end to WRA centers and segregation of loyal from disloyal residents. Senator Chandler argued that prolonged supervision would create a permanent government bureau.
• Senator Murray Reveals Tenor of Investigation, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Senator James Murray disclosed specific charges under investigation at the Rohwer and Jerome centers, including policies allowing inmates to come and go freely. He said he would withhold judgment until the inquiry was complete.
• Statement to Senate Group Warns Danger of Abandoning Evacuees to Axis Propaganda, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Five former Hawaii residents now on the Poston staff told a Senate subcommittee that loyal Japanese Americans must be distinguished from militaristic Japan. They warned that discriminatory measures play into Axis propaganda.
• Jerome Hunts Attackers of Two Leaders, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Authorities at Jerome sought the identity of a group that attacked Dr. T. T. Yatabe and Rev. John Yamazaki on March 6. Project Director Paul Taylor attributed the assault to a small minority of troublemakers.
• Investigations Into Beatings of Evacuees Being Continued, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Internal security chief J. B. Cook reported that investigations into the assault on Dr. Yatabe and Rev. Yamazaki were continuing. Both victims had recovered from slight injuries.
• Two Hundred To Aid Relocation Of Evacuee Group, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Malcolm E. Pitts, new WRA regional director, said some 200 persons will eventually work to find jobs and resettle evacuees. Five new relocation offices have opened in Salt Lake City, Denver, Kansas City, Chicago, and Cleveland.
• West Coast Committee Sends ”Open Letter” to Legislators On Discriminatory Race Laws, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The newly formed Pacific Coast Committee on American Principles and Fair Play sent an open letter to California legislators urging statesmanship on bills targeting Japanese Americans. The committee’s membership spans employers, educators, and trade unionists.
• Suyetomi Given Year in Prison For Violation, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Morris Eugene Suyetomi was sentenced to a year in jail for violating army regulations by leaving Topaz and returning to San Francisco. He had denied being Japanese and expressed hostility toward Japanese Americans.

National

• Civil Service Will Reemploy Evacuee Group, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Civil Service Commission agreed to a WRA plan placing Japanese Americans in government civil service jobs under restrictions. Several thousand evacuees may qualify for examinations.
• State Department Cautions California Personnel Board Against Nisei Discrimination, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The U.S. State Department cautioned the California State Personnel Board against actions inconsistent with policy toward loyal Americans of alien parentage. The board had discharged dozens of nisei employees.
• Use of Evacuee Labor in Sugar Beet Fields Contemplated, by P.C. Staff, page 3. War Manpower Commission and sugar beet industry representatives discussed large-scale use of Mexican and evacuee labor for the spring sugar beet harvest. Details of the evacuee employment program had not yet been worked out.

Military & Veterans

• Visits to Evacuated Areas For Volunteers Defined by Official, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Colonel W. P. Scobey stated that nisei inductees may visit evacuated areas only with escorts, except in special cases. The restriction reversed an earlier, more liberal announcement caused by a teletype error.
• Army Boosts Hawaii’s Quota for New Combat Unit, by P.C. Staff, page 1. More than 2500 Hawaiian volunteers of Japanese ancestry will be inducted for the special Japanese American combat team, up from the original 1500. Additional inductees will come from nearly 9500 volunteers who signed up in February.
• Collier’s Editorial Lauds War Department’s AJ Unit, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Collier’s Weekly praised the War Department’s decision to form a combat team of nisei soldiers as a reaffirmation of American democracy. The editorial expressed confidence that nisei would become valiant fighters.
• Volunteers For Army To Get Indefinite Leaves, Says Officer, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Leaves officer Loren Huycke announced that volunteers for the combat team will receive indefinite leaves whether or not the Army accepts them. The announcement was based on administration instruction No. 22.
• Many Nisei Soldiers Now on Active Duty in Combat Zones, According to Overseas Reports, by Pfc. Alex Yorichi, page 3. Pfc. Alex Yorichi, writing from the Military Intelligence School, reports letters indicating nisei soldiers are in combat across the Pacific and North Africa. He describes their awareness of the momentous role they are playing.
• Induction Date Set Back for Combat Team, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Induction of volunteers for the Japanese American combat team was delayed at least ten days, to after March 25. Physical examinations will be held at the centers, with volunteers at some centers examined locally.
• Nisei Reserve Officers Being Called Up For Service With Unit, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Japanese American reserve officers are being recalled to active duty for service with the new combat team. Minidoka, Poston, and Granada were credited with the strongest volunteer response.
• Pocatello Soldier Visits Home Town, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Private Harvey Yamashita, stationed at Fort Hayes, Ohio, visited Pocatello on a fifteen-day furlough. He planned to visit his brother at Camp Grant on his return.

Community

• Poston Editorial Lauds JACL’s Fight for Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A Poston Press Chronicle editorial praised the JACL for entering the Native Sons of the Golden West suit as a friend of the court. It described the organization as continually striving to secure the future of loyal Japanese Americans.
• Canadian Paper Opposes Move to Deport Japanese, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The New Canadian quoted Elmore Philpot’s Canadian News Herald column opposing deportation of residents of Japanese descent to Japan. Philpot argued such a policy could only be enforced by brute force or by an impractical Asia-for-the-Asiatics agreement.
• Pottery Project Plans Dropped at Heart Mountain, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Plans for a pottery factory at Heart Mountain have been dropped. The adult education department is organizing a training program in ceramics processes instead.
• Poston Will Have Printed Newspaper, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Poston Chronicle will replace its mimeographed daily with a printed newspaper edited and published within the center. A linotype and printing equipment are being installed.
• Poston II Plans Opening of Net Factory Soon, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Opening of the Poston III camouflage net factory appeared likely after contractors conferred with the camouflage committee. A council meeting was called to discuss division of factory earnings.
• Dr. Yatabe and Rev. Yamazaki Attacked, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Authorities at Jerome sought the identity of a group that attacked two leaders on March 6. Their injuries were described as slight.
• Utah Passes Modified Bill Against Aliens, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Governor Herbert Maw signed S.B. 216, a substitute alien land law barring aliens ineligible for citizenship from owning real property or taking long leaseholds, while permitting one-year leases. The governor had vetoed the earlier broader bill.
• Evacuee Hit During Argument Reported in Serious Condition, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Pete Masao Yamate was struck on the head with a carpenter’s square during a scuffle at Heart Mountain reportedly tied to a love triangle. The assailant, Wasuke Terada, is held pending trial.
• American Friends Plan Gifts for Center Babies, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Americans outside the centers will send gifts for newborn babies in WRA centers through the American Friends Clothing Committee. The gesture is intended as an expression of fellowship.
• Logging Industry May Absorb Large Number of Evacuee Workers, by P.C. Staff, page 6. After Ottawa lifted a regulation barring persons of Asian ancestry from cutting crown-grant timber, interior lumbermen expect about 2000 Canadian Japanese to be employed in sawmills and logging camps. Manpower shortages have idled several interior mills.
• JACL Trojans Lose In Second Round of Junior AAU Tourney, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The Salt Lake JACL Trojans lost 54-35 to Tommy’s Cafe in the second round of the Intermountain junior AAU tournament. Jim Kaneda scored 16 points for the Trojans.
• Evacuees Well Received in South Dakota, Says Observer, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Albert Kawasaki and Shigetaka Kobayashi report that South Dakota welcomes Japanese farm labor and share croppers, with about 10,000 acres open to evacuees. They describe the state’s farming conditions and community attitudes after a 4,000-mile inspection trip.
• First Call for Cotton Pickers Made at Gila, by P.C. Staff, page 7. A call for cotton pickers for the freed area drew about 150 volunteers from Gila residents, with wages of five cents per pound. The harvest of long-staple Pima cotton was considered vital to war production.
• Amache’s Arts, Crafts Festival Draws Big Crowd, by P.C. Staff, page 7. An arts and crafts festival at Amache’s Terry Hall drew about 10,000 spectators, including more than 1000 outside visitors. A representative exhibit was to be shown at the Pueblo Chamber of Commerce.
• Claude Settles Speaks On Nisei Question To San Jose Groups, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Sociology professor Claude Settles has made more than twenty appearances before clubs and church groups speaking on Americans of Japanese ancestry. Additional talks were scheduled in Stockton and San Jose.

Commentary

• Rep. Marcantonio Introduces Bill to Grant Naturalization Right to ”Ineligible Alien” Group, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Representative Vito Marcantonio introduced a bill to amend the Nationality Act of 1940 so that naturalization cannot be denied on account of race, color, creed, or national origin. The Japanese American Committee for Democracy endorsed the measure as a step toward equality.
• Visit to Topaz Like Going Home, by P.C. Staff, page 2. A writer describes a visit to Topaz for a funeral and the warm reception from old friends. The writer also compares Topaz housing and dust conditions favorably with Poston and warns against overconfidence.
• One Year of the WRA, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial marks the first anniversary of the War Relocation Authority and traces how its mission shifted from individual resettlement to concentrated relocation centers under western state pressure. It concludes that the WRA’s present policy of releasing loyal evacuees makes sense.
• Fair Play for the Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial praises the newly formed Pacific Coast Committee on American Principles and Fair Play for defending nisei rights against discriminatory legislation. It warns that loud racial agitation can take on a false semblance of truth.
• The WCCA Passes, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial welcomes the dissolution of the Wartime Civil Control Administration as a sign the military does not want to resume control of relocation. It argues that charges of pampering evacuees come from pressure groups seeking permanent detention.
• The Propaganda Front, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial argues that appeals to a prodemocratic minority in Japan will be ineffective because Japan lacks a democratic tradition. It suggests Japanese superstitions and fear of ridicule could be exploited, using talent held in relocation camps.
• The Negro and Evacuation, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial examines Negro leaders’ concern over the Japanese evacuation and the constitutional abridgement it represented. It argues that the struggle against racial prejudice cannot be won for one minority alone.
• Vagaries, by P.C. Staff, page 4. A brief column reports on the Wallgren bill to return relocation centers to army control and on the Phoenix hearings where religious groups spoke for fair treatment. It also notes resettlement news of former staff and evacuees.
• An Editorial on the U.S. Nisei, by Minneapolis Star-Journal, page 5. The Minneapolis Star-Journal argues that the evacuation of Japanese Americans was militarily justified but that making racial restrictions permanent is dangerous to all American civil rights. It notes that nisei consider themselves solely American.
• A Proposal For a Free World, by Peter Wood, page 5. Peter Wood reviews the National Resources Planning Board reports sent to Congress by President Roosevelt, outlining a nine-point economic bill of rights. He emphasizes the promise of full employment, social security, and freedom from want.
• From the Frying Pan: Resettlement From Both Sides of the Fence, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Hosokawa argues that fear of the unknown keeps many evacuees from resettling, even though the centers offer only a temporary security. He quotes a Toledo relocatee who reports friendly treatment and good job opportunities.
• Racial Legislation in U.S. Smacks of Nuremberg Laws, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Albert Deutch of PM describes state race laws, including anti-alien land laws, as uncomfortably akin to Nazi Nuremberg laws. He highlights absurd miscegenation statutes that would have affected historical American figures.

JACL

• JACL’s Fight for Nisei Told By Masaoka, by P.C. Staff, page 2. National JACL Secretary Mike Masaoka addressed a Denver audience of 250 on the organization’s wartime role. He called for unity among Japanese Americans and pledged continued legal efforts to protect nisei rights.
• Fort Lupton JACL Group Hears Talk By Mike Masaoka, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Mike Masaoka addressed the Fort Lupton JACL chapter on the responsibilities of Americans of Japanese ancestry. He urged greater unity and political consciousness to counter race-baiters seeking to strip citizenship.

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