Defending relocation: Myer answers the Dies committee in 1943

Vol. 16, No. 22, June 3, 1943. 8 pages. View this issue

The relocation of Japanese Americans out of the camps was the main business of this eight-page issue. On the front page, WRA Director Dillon S. Myer answered a Dies committee investigator, saying no instance of disloyal activity had been reported among 12,000 people released from relocation centers. Also on page one, the U.S. Supreme Court sent Fred Korematsu’s conviction back to the Ninth Circuit, and the War Department said a few Nisei in a special category might return to the Pacific Coast. Editorials by Larry Tajiri and columns by Saburo Kido and Bill Hosokawa followed on the inside pages.

Also in this issue: Kido wrote about the Nisei combat team and what it meant for Nisei loyalty, and Hosokawa described Memorial Day at Heart Mountain. Reports from the Minidoka and Amache centers, a Topaz painting that won an art contest, and accounts of resettlement in the Midwest fill the rest of the paper.

What’s in this issue

National

  • Myer Answers Charges by Dies Investigator Against WRA’s Program of Relocation, by P.C. Staff, page 1. WRA Director Dillon S. Myer defended the loyalty of 12,000 Japanese Americans released from relocation centers and called claims of released spies and saboteurs irresponsible. He stated no instance of disloyal activity had been reported among evacuees on leave.
  • Prediction of Benes: War in Europe Entering Final Phases, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Dr. Eduard Benes predicted at the University of Chicago that the war in Europe would end within a year, followed by Japan’s collapse. He said the initiative now rests with the Allies.
  • War Department Allows Return to Pacific Coast of Few Nisei Civilians in Special Category, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Assistant Secretary of War John J. McCloy said Japanese Americans married to Caucasians might be allowed to return to the Pacific Coast if loyalty is certain. He also called fears that furloughed Nisei soldiers endanger the coast fantastic.
  • President Creates New Agency to Insure Fair Employment Practices, by P.C. Staff, page 1. President Roosevelt replaced the fair employment practices committee with a new agency headed by Monsignor Francis J. Haas. The agency will enforce nondiscrimination in government contracts and investigate complaints.
  • Attorney General Kenny Rules Land Titles May Be Transferred by Japanese Americans, by P.C. Staff, page 1. California Attorney General Robert W. Kenny ruled that Japanese Americans can transfer title to land they owned in California. He noted title companies had been demanding birth certificates and affidavits from Caucasian citizens.
  • False Reports on Ownership of Boat Charged by Jury, by P.C. Staff, page 2. A Los Angeles federal grand jury indicted the Sea Pride Packing Corporation and Orion Fishing Corporation for allegedly defrauding the government with false reports on a fishing boat’s ownership.
  • Evacuee Holdings to Receive Attention in Nation-Wide Campaign, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The War Food Administration launched a nationwide search for idle farm machinery, with evacuee-abandoned equipment at WRA centers likely receiving first attention. County war boards will requisition machinery and resell it to farmers.
  • War Department Restrictions on Nisei Employment Modified, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Acting project director Donald Harbison reported that Nisei may now take civilian Army jobs outside the Western Defense Command with proper clearance. The change expands employment opportunities for evacuees.
  • Richardson Named Successor to Emmons in Hawaii; Stimson Lauds DeWitt Record, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Major General Robert C. Richardson replaced Lt. Gen. Delos Emmons in Hawaii, fueling speculation about DeWitt’s replacement. Secretary Stimson called reports of DeWitt’s transfer nonsense.

Military & Veterans

  • Victory at Attu, by P.C. Staff, page 1. American troops secured Attu island after 20 days of fighting, placing themselves to pressure Japanese forces on Kiska. The article also covers Allied naval activity at Gibraltar and German and Italian broadcast predictions of an Allied invasion of Europe.
  • Nisei Corporal Commissioned as Warrant Officer, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Corporal Frederick O. Jinbo of Sacramento was commissioned a warrant officer in the field artillery battalion of the Japanese American combat team at Camp Shelby. He is a UCLA business administration graduate.
  • Combat Team Is Show of Loyalty, by Saburo Kido, page 3. Kido recounts a delegation meeting with Colonel Scobey and Assistant Secretary McCloy about the Nisei combat team. McCloy regarded the unit as a symbol of Nisei loyalty.
  • Volunteers Will Receive Special Consideration, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Amache is making efforts to secure outside employment for combat team volunteers rejected for physical or age reasons. Such volunteers will receive priority in clearance and job placement.
  • Nisei Eligible to Take Tests for Attorneys, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Civil Service Commission permitted American citizens of Japanese ancestry in relocation centers to take June 12 examinations for special federal attorney positions. Eligibility was extended to several groups including recent graduates.

Incarceration & Redress

  • Korematsu Case Recommitted to Circuit Court, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Ninth Circuit Court has jurisdiction to review Fred Korematsu’s conviction for remaining in an excluded area. Korematsu is currently held at the Central Utah Relocation Center at Topaz.
  • Myer Denies Rumored Closing of Minidoka Center, by P.C. Staff, page 2. WRA Director Dillon Myer told Assistant Project Director Philip Schafer that reports the Minidoka relocation center would close were unfounded. Relocation is progressing but not so rapidly that centers would close soon.
  • Christianity Keeps Evacuees Loyal to U.S., Tule Pastor Says, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Rev. Daisuke Kitagawa, pastor at Tule Lake, said Christianity helps keep evacuees loyal despite their confinement. He noted many Christian evacuees have grown more devout.
  • Removal of Patients From Institutions Ordered by Board, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Contra Costa County board of supervisors ordered removal of over a hundred Japanese American patients from county institutions. Supervisor McDonough said citizens were being denied hospital beds.

Community

  • Nisei Contract Suit Heard in S.F. City Court, by P.C. Staff, page 1. John M. Mashihara testified that the government’s freeze order prevented him from returning to fulfill part of a nursery sale contract. The buyer countersued for damages over the unfulfilled teaching clause.
  • Nisei Group Host at Farewell Dinner for Barron Beshoar, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A group of Nisei in Denver held a farewell dinner for Barron Beshoar, regional representative of the President’s Committee on Fair Employment Practices, who was leaving for a newspaper post in Memphis. Successor John R. Lawson was also honored.
  • Tenney Opposes Nisei Soldiers Visiting Coast, by P.C. Staff, page 2. State Senator Jack B. Tenney criticized Army furlough policy allowing Nisei soldiers to visit coastal defense areas. He said he was not reflecting on the soldiers themselves but warned of espionage danger.
  • Chiura Obata Wins Friends Art Contest with Topaz Painting, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Professor Chiura Obata won first prize in a Friends Center art contest for his Topaz landscape New Moon. Other winners from Heart Mountain, Amache, Topaz, Poston, and Newell were also named.
  • Midwest Groups Amazed to Learn of Evacuation, by Teiko Ishide, page 6. Midwest groups are learning about evacuation, and the Japanese American Citizens League’s brief to the Supreme Court in the Hirabayashi and Yasui cases is available. Reports from British Columbia note the province is removing Japanese Canadians.

Commentary

  • Pacific Coast Conference to Stop Release of Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 1. American Legion, Jaycee, and Native Sons groups formed a permanent Pacific Coast Japanese Problem Conference to block evacuee return. Speakers including Representative Costello vowed a fight against releasing evacuees.
  • Nisei Begin to See America, by Saburo Kido, page 3. Kido describes Nisei relocating across the country and notes about 1000 leave the centers weekly. He reports New York offers housing and employment opportunities for Nisei.
  • Mayor Bowron Repeats Stand Against Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Los Angeles Mayor Bowron defended his earlier call to strip Japanese Americans of citizenship in a radio address. He said sentimentality toward Japanese could harm American fighting morale.
  • Two-Way Obligation, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. This editorial argues that evacuee resettlers must conduct themselves responsibly in public because their behavior affects the success of relocation. It notes that government and resettlers share the obligation to make relocation succeed.
  • At Cross Purposes, by P.C. Staff, page 4. This editorial criticizes the AFL, American Legion, and VFW for opposing repeal of the Chinese exclusion act. It argues that repeal would strengthen the Allied cause against Axis propaganda.
  • From the Frying Pan: Sickness in Sunkist California, by Bill Hosokawa, page 4. Hosokawa characterizes a racist fascist mentality in California that targets Japanese Americans. He cites a hateful letter from a California newspaper as an example of this bigotry.
  • Memorial Day at Heart Mountain, by Bill Hosokawa, page 4. Hosokawa describes Heart Mountain’s Memorial Day services at its small cemetery for the dead. He contrasts this with the birth of a child in Cody that same morning.
  • Hitler Has Unified Europe, Against Him, by P.C. Staff, page 5. This piece reports on European resistance including sabotage, partisan armies, and mutinies against Nazi rule. It argues that Hitler unified Europe in opposition to his occupation.
  • To the Future, by Gila News Courier, page 5. This editorial praises the 33 men leaving Gila for the Japanese American combat unit as trailblazers toward a better future. It urges continued support for re-establishment in American society.
  • Native Sons Resolution Against Nisei Citizenship Is Disturbing, by Alfred Frankenstein, page 5. Frankenstein criticizes a Native Sons resolution calling for a constitutional amendment stripping citizenship from American-born Japanese. He argues the proposal would set a dangerous precedent threatening all minorities.
  • Scores Attitude of Larry Smith Broadcasts, by Masaru Chick Uno, page 6. Minidoka volunteer organization chairman Masaru Uno rejects radio commentator Larry Smith’s claims that Nisei are disloyal. He argues Nisei loyalty was demonstrated by their acceptance of evacuation and volunteering for combat.
  • Ann Nisei Says: War Days Require Conservation of Things We Have, by Ann Nisei, page 6. This column urges readers to conserve linens and household goods during wartime rather than waste them. It offers practical tips for washing, ironing, and mending sheets to extend their life.
  • Hospitality Houses Prepared for Large Scale Resettlement, by P.C. Staff, page 6. John Copithorne of the Iowa American Friends Service Committee reports hospitality houses have been set up in Iowa for resettling evacuees. He describes available farm work and housing.
  • Nisei Discovering America; America Is Discovering Nisei, by John Powell, page 7. Dr. John Powell reports that over 2000 evacuees have found jobs and homes in five midwestern cities. He describes warm reception from Americans who accept Nisei based on their conduct.
  • Pasadenans Must Accept Nisei’s Return, Professor Tells Them, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Dr. Lynn Hattersley told the Pasadena Junior Chamber of Commerce that the exclusion of Japanese Americans was unconstitutional and that the community must accept their return. He said no espionage by Japanese Americans had been shown.
  • Kido Discusses Relocation Problems, by Saburo Kido, page 8. Kido explains the importance of the combat team to Nisei loyalty and the value of Assistant Secretary McCloy’s support. He argues the restriction denying Nisei military service would have humiliated the community.

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