The Supreme Court curfew ruling and the Dies hearings

Vol. 16, No. 25, June 24, 1943. 8 pages. View this issue

Two stories ran side by side in this 8-page issue. The Supreme Court unanimously upheld the military curfew on Japanese Americans in the Hirabayashi and Yasui cases, with Justices Douglas, Murphy and Rutledge warning against suspending civil liberties in wartime. Meanwhile, the Dies committee reportedly planned to call Mike Masaoka and Joe Kanazawa, both now in Army training, when its hearings reopened. Saburo Kido’s columns, A. L. Wirin on Arizona’s race law, and Peter Wood’s reports from a trip across the country followed the fallout.

Other pages cover Dies investigators at Poston, Heart Mountain director Guy Robertson answering charges about hidden food, and Minidoka residents voting down a community council charter. Bill Hosokawa, Mary Oyama and Ted Friend contributed columns, and Camp Shelby notes follow the Japanese American combat team. Smaller items include a Larchmont, New York, neighborhood replanting a vandalized Victory Garden.

What’s in this issue

National

• JACL Officers, Now in Army, Will Be Called to Testify at Dies Hearing, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Dies committee reportedly will call former JACL officers Mike Masaoka and Joe Kanazawa, now in Army training, as the first witnesses when its hearings reopen. The committee also plans to question WRA director Dillon Myer about files it seized from the JACL.
• Dies Investigators Amazed by Crowded Conditions at Poston, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Dies committee members visiting Poston expressed amazement at overcrowded housing, with eight persons sleeping in one room and no cooling equipment. They found no cached food in cellars or other suspected spots.
• Supreme Court Upholds Coast Curfew as Legal, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Supreme Court unanimously held constitutional the military curfew on west coast Americans of Japanese ancestry in the Hirabayashi and Yasui cases. Justices Douglas, Murphy and Rutledge warned against suspending wartime civil liberties, and Murphy disapproved the stringent relocation program.
• Myer Reports Relocation Plan to House Group, by P.C. Staff, page 1. WRA Director Dillon Myer told a House subcommittee the agency plans to move 30,000 evacuees out of relocation centers in 1944 and that about 11,000 are already on work leave with no reported disloyalty. He said he had never heard of the alleged Black Dragon sabotage school.
• Military Restrictions Imposed on Nisei Upheld in Yasui, Hirabayashi Decision, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Supreme Court upheld the curfew orders in the Hirabayashi and Yasui appeals without ruling on the exclusion order’s legality. Yasui’s case was remanded for resentencing and to strike findings that Japanese Americans are not citizens.
• Fair Treatment of Nisei Sought by Coast Group, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Pacific Coast Committee on American Principles and Fair Play, chaired honorarily by University of California president Robert Gordon Sproul, recommended segregating disloyal persons of Japanese ancestry while protecting loyal citizens’ rights to serve and to settle. The proposals also called for fair play toward loyal Japanese Americans.
• Arizona Governor Wants Evacuees Returned to Coast, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Arizona Governor Sidney P. Osborn said residents want American-born Japanese in Poston and Gila River sent back to their home states after the war. Arizona had only 1,100 residents of Japanese ancestry before the war began.
• Coast Farmers Oppose Return of Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Frank Smith of Turlock told a California state senate committee that farmers do not want persons of Japanese ancestry returned to the coast, either now or after the war. The committee was gathering attitudes toward evacuees in relocation centers.
• Californian Seeks Deportation Move in U.S. Congress, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Representative J. Leroy Johnson proposed a concurrent resolution to authorize postwar deportation of Japanese aliens and disloyal American-born Japanese. He also proposed a three-member deportation commission to review loyalty records.
• CIO Unions Condemn Dies Committee’s Smear Campaign Against Japanese Americans, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The CIO Industrial Union Council of the District of Columbia unanimously condemned the Dies committee and Hearst press campaign against the WRA and Japanese Americans. The council also endorsed the WRA relocation program and welcomed released evacuees into CIO unions.
• Employers Urged by WPB Official to Hire Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Leslie A. Miller, regional War Production Board director, urged Rocky Mountain employers to use the manpower of loyal Japanese Americans released from relocation centers. He noted skilled workers and experienced farmers among them.
• Japanese Problem in Hawaii Exaggerated, Says Honolulu Mayor, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Honolulu Mayor Lester Petrie told the San Francisco Chronicle that the Japanese problem in Hawaii has been greatly exaggerated. He denied stories that residents of Japanese ancestry aided the enemy or committed sabotage at Pearl Harbor.
• New Efforts to Win Entry Rights for Chinese Seen, by P.C. Staff, page 8. House Immigration Committee approval of Chinese immigration failed by one vote, but new proposals to repeal the Chinese exclusion act are being advanced. Representatives Gossett and Magnuson proposed alternatives.

Incarceration & Redress

• Heart Mountain Director Robertson Denies Charges Filed by Best, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Heart Mountain director Guy Robertson rejected former employee Earl Best’s Dies testimony that food was hidden and traded for liquor and chickens. Robertson said the food was merely stored in a messhall attic, and Best was asked to resign for inefficiency.
• Hunt Residents Leave Center for New Homes, by P.C. Staff, page 2. 257 residents left the Minidoka center in two weeks, with 177 granted indefinite leave to sixteen states after loyalty checks. Eighty others went out on seasonal work leave to agriculture and food preservation jobs.
• Yasui Request for Release on Bail Is Denied, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Judge James A. Fee rejected Minoru Yasui’s request for release on bond to a relocation center while he serves his sentence for violating curfew. Yasui had deliberately violated the order to test its constitutionality.
• Minidoka Canal Claims Life of Boy Evacuee, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Eleven-year-old Noboru Roy Tada drowned in the North Side canal near the Minidoka center after slipping from the bank. His body was recovered about a mile downstream.
• Dies Committee Gives Conclusions of L.A. Hearings, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The Dies subcommittee concluded its Pacific Coast hearings with critical findings on WRA administration, including unwise spending on judo and goh, unpunished violence, and overcrowding. Members said the full committee would resume hearings in Washington.
• Minidoka Residents Reject Charter for Community Council, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Minidoka residents voted down by a large majority a proposed charter establishing a self-governing community advisory council. Complete returns showed 2,875 against and 1,568 in favor.
• Costs of Evacuee Initiated Transfer To Be Self-Paid, by P.C. Staff, page 6. WRA clarified that residents who request transfers to another project for personal reasons, such as marriage, must pay their own travel costs. The ruling clarifies existing regulations without changing them.
• Stranded Group Being Placed in New Jobs, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Evacuees stranded by the cancellation of NYA programs in Cleveland and Chicago are being placed in jobs and schools. Seventy-five youths in Minneapolis and St. Paul are also being placed with help from public-spirited citizens.
• Six Evacuees Serving Terms in Arizona Jail, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Warden A. G. Walker revealed that six evacuees from Arizona relocation centers have been sentenced to state prison since February 1. Five were arrested for assaulting Saburo Kido at Poston, countering Dies committee charges that attackers went unpunished.
• Arizona Commission Grants Hearing on Rivers Co-operative, by P.C. Staff, page 8. An Arizona Corporation Commission hearing on canceling the license of the Gila River consumers’ cooperative turned into a broad discussion of the evacuee problem. Witnesses largely urged cancellation and the end of WRA administration.
• Ruling Returns Evacuee Suit to Lower Court, by P.C. Staff, page 8. A federal court refused jurisdiction over the property suit filed by evacuees N. Hiramatsu and Y. Iriyama, sending it back to Santa Barbara superior court. The defendants countersued the plaintiffs’ attorney for false accusations and slander.

Community

• California Republicans Urge Firmer Control of Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Republican State Central Committee, meeting in Los Angeles, passed a resolution calling for a firmer hand in dealing with evacuees after Dies subcommittee hearings. It urged a single concentrated authority to handle the problem.
• Larchmont Townspeople Rally to Replace Patch Destroyed by Vandals, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Vandals trampled the Victory Garden of Japanese immigrant Mr. Matsumoto in Larchmont, New York, on June 18. Neighbors and village officials replanted the lot with seedlings from their own properties.
• Two California Religious Bodies Urge Use of Nisei in Industry, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Two Bay Area religious groups passed resolutions praising the enlistment of loyal Japanese Americans and urging their employment in war industries and agriculture. The Berkeley Fellowship of Churches called the government’s evacuee policies enlightened and realistic.
• California May Vote to Exclude Evacuees in 1944 Elections, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Articles of incorporation for the California Citizens Council were filed to push an evacuee exclusion initiative that could appear on the November 1944 ballot. Maurice E. Harrison of San Francisco chairs the group.
• Pasadena Directors Turn Down Second Legion Request, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Pasadena board of directors declined to endorse the American Legion’s seven-point evacuee program but adopted its own resolution calling for exclusion of evacuees from the Pacific coast for the duration of the war.
• Boston Group Aids Relocation of Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 7. A Boston hospitality committee was formed with church, civic, and social agencies to help relocating evacuees. Evacuees can request ten-day to two-week stays in private homes, and Traveler’s Aid desks maintain lists of accommodations.
• Women’s Group Urges Resettlement, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The Women’s League for Peace and Freedom passed resolutions calling restitution for Japanese Americans and urging speedier evacuee resettlement. It also called for repeal of the Oriental Exclusion Act and condemned disfranchisement efforts.
• Kaysville Rotary Club Members Are Guests of JACL, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The Davis County JACL hosted Kaysville Rotary members at a June meeting featuring an open forum on the assimilation of Nisei among Caucasian groups. Speakers included George Akasaka and several young women.

Commentary

• L.A. Pastor Defends Citizenship Rights of Nisei in Radio Talk, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Reverend Allan A. Hunter of Mt. Hollywood Congregational Church argued on KFAC that stripping citizenship from Americans of Japanese ancestry would be a triumph of Hitlerism. He cited the Supreme Court’s refusal to recognize racial citizenship bases and anthropologists’ findings that race does not determine character.
• Toward a Saner Perspective, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial argues that race-hatred campaigns against Japanese Americans are out of step with American democratic traditions and that it is too early to concede defeat. It cites Supreme Court refusals to base citizenship on race and the CIO council’s stand as signs of wider support.
• A Lesson from the North, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial contrasts British Columbia’s anti-Japanese campaign with a Revelstoke by-election in which the CCF candidate won after endorsing fair play for Japanese Canadians. It argues the result shows voters can reject misinformation and decide such issues on merits.
• Journey Around America, by Peter Wood, page 4. Peter Wood describes a train trip across the Plains, Chicago, and the Midwest, observing Japanese American exiles seeking new lives in cities that offer jobs and anonymity. He notes housing shortages and the everyday freedoms evacuees rediscover outside camps.
• War Is Being Waged on Eight Fronts, by Peter Wood, page 5. Wood argues the phrase second front has lost meaning because the world fights on eight significant fronts, including Russia, the European air war, the Mediterranean, the Atlantic, and China. He assesses each front’s current importance and the prospects for Allied offensives.
• Timely Topics, by Saburo Kido, page 5. Kido criticizes the Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling upholding the evacuation and curfew orders, warning it sets a precedent for future mass removals. He notes questions remain about camera and firearm restrictions and the duration of exclusion from the coast.
• Must Consider Future Realistically, by Saburo Kido, page 5. Kido urges Japanese Americans to plan realistically after the Supreme Court decision, since the Pacific coast may not offer security against future evacuation. He encourages serious consideration of WRA dispersal to other regions.
• Two-Fold Challenge of Arizona Race Law Indicated by Wirin, by A. L. Wirin, page 5. Wirin analyzes Arizona House Bill 187, which penalizes business dealings with persons whose movements are restricted, a law effectively aimed at Japanese Americans. He outlines two constitutional challenges under the Fourteenth Amendment: equal protection and due process.
• Coast Fascists’ Campaign Parallels Hitler’s, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The column draws parallels between the California campaign against Japanese Americans and Nazi persecution of Jews, both built on claims that race determines undesirable traits. It notes the lack of violence so far is due to the absence of Japanese Americans nearby rather than restraint.
• The Frying Pan, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Hosokawa reports on Arkansas governor Homer Adkins blocking employment of evacuees in private industry and on California officials who publicly threatened Japanese American soldiers. He also notes shrinking staff at the Manzanar Sentinel as reporters leave for relocation.
• The Long View Ahead, by Mary Oyama, page 6. Mary Oyama, writing after evacuation, reflects on the psychological toll of confinement and the need for Nisei to integrate into American life through churches, organizations, and reading. She urges Nisei to speak up for themselves and encourages the serving of soldiers’ stories.
• Ann Nisei Says: Ornaments, Dressy Accessories Must Be Worn With Care, by Ann Nisei, page 6. Ann Nisei gives fashion advice on choosing one focal point per outfit and matching accessories and shoes to the occasion. She also offers tips on makeup and self-assessment questions for dressing well.
• Coast Group Says Evacuee Return May Lead to Race Riots, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The California Society of the Sons of the American Revolution sent resolutions to Secretary of War Stimson warning that evacuee return could cause civil disorder and race riots. The resolutions cited organized efforts and alleged disloyalty as grounds.
• Labor Writer Says Evacuation Was a Tragic Crime, by Ted Friend, page 6. Ted Friend, writing in the Utah Labor News, condemned the forcible removal of Japanese Americans as a degrading act unworthy of American history. He urged the government to make immediate amends and to relocate evacuees spiritually as well as physically.

Military & Veterans

• Three Onodera Brothers Arrive at Camp Shelby, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Brothers Ko, Kaun, and Satoru Onodera from Minidoka joined the Japanese American Combat Team at Camp Shelby after a furlough in Seattle. The brothers reported warm welcomes from former schoolmates and friends.
• East Bay Minister’s Group Condemns Campaign Against Loyal Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The East Bay Minister’s Fellowship passed a resolution condemning discrimination against Japanese Americans as un-American and contrary to religious principles. It commended the War Department and WRA for their enlightened policies.
• Nisei Soldiers Notes from Camp Shelby, by P.C. Staff, page 3. News notes from the Japanese American Combat Team describe soldiers from Amache, Minidoka, and other centers reuniting or getting new assignments, including a cavalry trooper now in infantry. The team’s baseball squads are also riding high in the camp league.
• Nevada Veterans Pass Resolutions, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Nevada veterans passed resolutions regarding the evacuee question at their meeting. Coverage was brief in this excerpt.
• Nisei Doctors Train for Army Service at Carlisle Barracks, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Nisei Lieutenants California S. Ushiro, Norman Kobayashi, and Katsumi Nakadate, members of the 28th Officers Class at Carlisle Barracks, wrote that Pearl Harbor was a harder blow for American-born Japanese. They pledged loyal service and rejected any ties to Japan.

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