1943: Supreme Court upholds Nisei citizenship; WRA moves to speed resettlement

Vol. 16, No. 20, May 20, 1943. 8 pages. View this issue

The Supreme Court’s refusal to review the Native Sons of the Golden West suit, which had sought to strip Japanese Americans of citizenship, led this eight-page issue. WRA director Dillon Myer was quoted calling camp life unnatural and un-American, and the news turned toward resettlement: about 150 people in St. Louis, thousands moving into essential jobs, and a New York conference of 125 representatives. Saburo Kido reported on the Yasui and Hirabayashi test cases now before the justices, and Bill Hosokawa and Fred Fertig wrote on prejudice and the need to resettle.

Other items followed opposition to the return of Japanese Americans, from the Woodland Chamber of Commerce, California nurserymen and Representative J. Parnell Thomas, as well as House hearings on immigration bills. Readers will also find a Heart Mountain art exhibit, a Nisei soldier reported prisoner of war, and Eleanor Roosevelt’s warning against reprisals.

What’s in this issue

National

• Supreme Court Upholds Nisei Citizenship, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Supreme Court refused to review the Regan case, ending the Native Sons of the Golden West’s attempt to strip Japanese Americans of citizenship. The decision follows the Ninth Circuit ruling and Judge St. Sure’s earlier dismissal of the suit.
• Relocation to Be Speeded in St. Louis, by P.C. Staff, page 1. About 150 evacuees have been resettled in the St. Louis area since last fall, with another 100 expected. WRA official Emory Kennedy described the careful resettlement work as an example of practical democracy.
• Colonel Scobey Defends Rights of Loyal Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Colonel William P. Scobey of the War Department wrote that mass evacuation did not imply disloyalty of all Japanese and that restricting loyal persons is not in accord with American principles. He stated the War Department would not concur in actions jeopardizing coastal security.
• House Hearing on Immigration Bills Started, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The House Immigration and Naturalization Committee defeated a move to postpone hearings on repeal or modification of Oriental exclusion laws. JACL secretary Mike Masaoka was expected to testify in support of naturalization rights for loyal aliens of Japanese ancestry.
• Thomas Is Against Release of Evacuees for Private Jobs, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Representative J. Parnell Thomas of the Dies committee opposed releasing evacuees from relocation centers and claimed a trained Japanese battalion existed at Terminal Island. He said the committee would hold further hearings in Los Angeles.
• Nurserymen to Fight Return of Japanese, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Directors of the California Association of Nurserymen met to plan opposition to the return of persons of Japanese ancestry to the Pacific coast after the war. Named cooperators were to join farm and veterans organizations in the exclusion movement.
• Test Cases Now in Hands of Justices, by Saburo Kido, page 2. Saburo Kido reports on Supreme Court oral arguments in the Yasui and Hirabayashi test cases, outlining the constitutional challenges and government responses. He notes the two distinct issues the Court must decide and that the outcome is uncertain.
• Washington Letter: Eleanor Roosevelt Opposes Reprisals Against Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt said reprisals against Japanese prisoners or evacuees would not stop Japan from executing American airmen. She argued the country should act in a civilized way.

Incarceration & Redress

• WRA Centers Recognized as Mistake, Says Myer, by P.C. Staff, page 1. WRA director Dillon Myer stated the government now considers the relocation camps a mistake and is moving to release most evacuees as quickly as possible. He called camp life unnatural and un-American and estimated 75 percent should be placed in private employment.
• Review of Native Sons Suit Refused by Supreme Court, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Arguments before the Ninth Circuit Court by Attorney Webb for the Native Sons were reviewed, with judges challenging his reasoning. The Japanese American Citizens League filed a brief defending citizenship rights of non-Caucasian Americans.
• Population at Minidoka Drops as Evacuees Leave, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The population of the Minidoka relocation center fell to 8,100 as more than 600 residents took indefinite leave for permanent work and 850 left on seasonal leave. Most are doing agricultural work or professional service jobs in the midwest.
• Nisei Workers Idleness Is Foolish Waste, Says Director, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Topaz director Charles F. Ernst said idleness among evacuees is a waste and that 500 residents have left for jobs in the midwest. He endorsed Senate committee recommendations on selective service and employment.
• OWI Says Thousands of Nisei Being Moved Now Into Essential Employment, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Office of War Information reported that thousands of evacuees are being systematically moved into essential jobs, with relocation centers serving as temporary way stations. Investigations of adult evacuees determine who may leave the centers.
• California Attorney General Files Brief in Supreme Court, by P.C. Staff, page 3. California Attorney General Robert Kenney filed briefs supporting General DeWitt’s exclusion order in the Hirabayashi and Yasui cases, joined by Oregon and Washington. The briefs argue the threat of invasion justified the orders and question the validity of citizenship claims.
• Evacuees Help Save Montana Sugar Crops, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Evacuees from several relocation centers harvested 16,000 acres of sugar beets in Montana last fall, saving about $10 million in crops. The workers earned an average of $120 each during the harvest season.
• Conference on Resettlement Convened in New York City, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A two-day conference of 125 representatives from more than 50 organizations met in New York to coordinate evacuee resettlement under JACL sponsorship. Speakers including Dillon Myer and Roger Baldwin addressed conditions in the centers and the need for resettlement.
• Granada Evacuees Accept Private Positions Outside, by P.C. Staff, page 3. More than 300 Japanese Americans were granted indefinite leaves from the Granada center within ten days to accept private employment. Released evacuees included domestics, farmers, and skilled and professional workers.
• Manpower Official Urges Full Use of Nisei Labor Supply, by P.C. Staff, page 3. John R. McCusker, regional director of the War Manpower Commission, urged full utilization of Japanese American workers in the Rocky Mountain area. He said the labor pool remains largely untouched despite labor shortages.
• Nisei in Centers Urged to Plan Resettlement Now, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The editorial urges nisei in the centers to plan resettlement now, arguing that outside work builds self-respect and reassimilation. It says resettlement and engagement with non-Japanese Americans will gain acceptance for the nisei group.
• Voluntary Evacuees Are Offered Property Aid, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The War Relocation Authority announced that voluntary evacuees who lived in military areas may receive assistance with property matters. Services include finding tenants, negotiating leases, and arranging storage.

Community

• Woodland Chamber of Commerce Opposes Return of Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Woodland district Chamber of Commerce adopted a resolution opposing the return of evacuees to Yolo County, arguing it is not in the best interests of the country to permit them in the armed forces. Copies were to be sent to congressional representatives.
• Seattle Man Joins Heart Mountain Staff, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Dr. Forrest LaViolette, a sociologist who taught at the University of Washington and McGill University, joined the Heart Mountain administrative staff as community analyst. He has published studies on nisei problems.

Military & Veterans

• Nisei Soldier Is Reported Prisoner of War, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The War Department notified the family of Sgt. Frank Fujita Jr. that he was a Japanese prisoner, the first official word on his whereabouts. Fujita was a member of the Lost Battalion on Java when the island fell in March 1942.
• Thirty-Nine Go to Salt Lake for Induction, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Thirty-nine Americans of Japanese ancestry left the Minidoka center for Fort Douglas to be inducted into the army. More than 100 earlier volunteers have already been inducted into a special combat unit at Camp Shelby.
• Nisei Interpreters Used in the Solomons, by P.C. Staff, page 8. A picture of two nisei interpreters serving with U.S. forces in the Solomons was released. The item notes their contribution to the war effort.

Commentary

• No Race is ‘Unassimilable,’ Says Vancouver Columnist, by P.C. Staff, page 2. A Vancouver columnist condemns the Local Council of Women’s recommendation to exclude Chinese as an unassimilable race and argues that Canada has never tried to assimilate minorities. He contrasts Dutch and Hawaiian racial mixing with Canadian prejudice.
• Kido Discusses Test Cases Now Before Court, by Saburo Kido, page 3. Saburo Kido reflects on his travel east, the value of nisei resettlement in new communities, and the importance of careful conduct for public relations. He describes the farmland he saw and argues that farming may be the most secure field for nisei after the war.
• Editorials: They May Try Again, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial welcomes the Supreme Court’s refusal to disenfranchise nisei but warns that the Native Sons will continue their racist campaign. It notes their convention resolutions seeking to bar Japanese Americans from returning to prewar status.
• Reversion to Prejudice, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial criticizes the Los Angeles A.F.L. Central Labor Council for opposing Chinese immigration reform bills. It notes the labor movement’s history of racial discrimination and calls on the broader labor movement to repudiate the action.
• Rep. Thomas’ Fantasy, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial criticizes the Dies committee and Representative J. Parnell Thomas for sensational, unfounded charges against evacuees. It compares their tactics to the earlier failure to recognize fascist threats.
• From the Frying Pan, by Bill Hosokawa, page 4. Bill Hosokawa criticizes native fascists and race-baiters who spread falsehoods about evacuees, including claims about Hawaii sabotage and Manzanar. He argues that racial prejudice undermines the war effort against the Axis.
• Grace Cook Wants to Know: Where Would Mr. Pegler Be Seeing Any Young Japs?, by Grace Cook, page 5. Grace Cook responds to Westbrook Pegler’s column about young Japanese bathing in a canal near a reservation. She argues that racial division and assumed inequality undermine American democracy.
• Some Notes for the Nisei: Resettlement Now Is Necessary, by Fred Fertig, page 5. Fred Fertig argues that nisei must resettle outside the centers to help build a democratic America and to counter race-baiting. He contends that participation in farms, business, and government strengthens both nisei and the nation.
• Live Together and Like It, by P.C. Staff, page 5. This column offers practical advice on sharing housing with roommates, including respecting privacy, sharing chores, and managing schedules. It emphasizes that good living arrangements require consideration and tact.

Arts & Entertainment

• Heart Mountain Art, by P.C. Staff, page 5. An exhibit of Heart Mountain art was displayed at San Jose State College after earlier shows at the college library and city YWCA. The work of artists including Hideo Date, Benji Okubo, and Bob Kuwahara was featured.

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