Myer and Masaoka face the Dies Committee, and an Arizona law falls

Vol. 17, No. 1, July 10, 1943. 8 pages. View this issue

Congressional hearings on the War Relocation Authority led this 8-page issue. Larry Tajiri reported that WRA Director Dillon Myer sharply criticized the Dies Committee, saying half-truths and falsehoods spread before its hearings undermined American unity. Mike Masaoka, on leave from his JACL post to serve in the Army, closed his testimony by asking for democratic treatment of Japanese Americans. The other lead story reported that a Maricopa County judge ruled Arizona’s restrictive commercial law unconstitutional in a test case brought by JACL chapter president Tsutomu Ikeda. Saburo Kido called the two events a vindication.

Elsewhere, Bill Hosokawa answered Congressman Dies on racial hatred, and Joe Masaoka wrote from Colorado. Reports covered Minidoka’s first farm harvest, newspaper visits to the centers, and the Arkansas Gazette’s look at life at Jerome and Rohwer. Ann Nisei offered canning advice for resettlers, and soldiers at Camp Shelby raised over $1400 for polio work in Hawaii.

What’s in this issue

National

• Dillon Myer Lashes Conduct of Dies Committee Hearings, by By LARRY TAJIRI, page 1. WRA Director Dillon Myer criticized the Dies Committee for spreading half-truths and falsehoods during its investigation of the War Relocation Authority. He warned that such misinformation undermines American unity and provides enemy propaganda material.
• Judge Rules Racial Measure Unconstitutional in Trial Case Sponsored by JACL Groups, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Maricopa County Superior Court Justice Phelps declared Arizona’s law restricting commercial dealings with persons whose movements are restricted to be unconstitutional. The ruling arose from a test case brought by Arizona JACL chapter president Tsutomu Ikeda.
• Dies Scored as Unsuited for Investigation of Race Issues, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Sacramento Union editorialized that Congressman Dies is the least appropriate person to investigate racial antagonisms, given his preconceived conclusions. The paper argued his hysterical approach fails to grasp the complexity of racial prejudice.
• War Work Seen as Possibility for Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 2. A joint national policy of the War Department, Attorney General, Navy Department and Maritime Commission calls for full employment of loyal workers regardless of national origin or citizenship. Evacuees may soon be employed in war work upon release from relocation centers.
• Utah Will Not Use Mexican Farm Workers, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Federal agencies in Salt Lake City agreed with the Mexican consul that Utah will not import Mexican farm laborers for now. Evacuee and other available local workers will first be used to meet the farm labor shortage.
• Senate Approves Bill As Downey Resolution Asks Segregation in WRA Centers, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Senate passed without opposition a Downey resolution requesting the President to order segregation of loyal from disloyal evacuees in relocation centers. Dillon Myer reportedly favors separation by loyalty but said manpower and housing shortages have delayed it.
• Reorganization Of Fair Employment Body Is Completed, by P.C. Staff, page 8. President Roosevelt completed reorganization of the Fair Employment Practice Committee by adding three new members. Monsignor Francis Haas was named chairman in an earlier step.

Incarceration & Redress

• WRA’s ‘Confidential Files’ Shown as Public Documents, by P.C. Staff, page 1. War Relocation Authority officials disclosed that the supposedly confidential administrative directives the Dies subcommittee accused the WRA of giving the JACL are public documents available to any citizen. The Dies group’s charges of improper disclosure collapsed under this revelation.
• Dillon Myer Flays Conduct of Dies Committee Hearing, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Myer identified numerous mistruths in testimony by Harold Townsend and rejected claims the WRA released known saboteurs. He also reported that Nisei have shown loyalty through military service and that the WRA is working on a segregation policy.
• Financial Aid for Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The War Relocation Authority issued a statement refuting inaccurate public charges by the Dies Committee about evacuee privileges, including government car use and financial grants. Representative Starnes denied making several of the attributed statements.
• Favorable Publicity Results From ‘Open House’ at Centers, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Open house visits to WRA centers by newspapermen and radio commentators produced generally understanding and favorable newspaper coverage. Tule Lake, Minidoka, and Topaz received articles refuting charges that evacuees were being coddled.
• Arizona Measure Held Void By State Superior Court, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Judge Phelps explained at length why Arizona’s restrictive commercial law violates the Fourteenth Amendment and state constitution. He gave examples such as a family needing to advertise a casket purchase to show the law’s absurdity.
• Church Assembly Urges Evacuee Resettlement, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church endorsed the WRA’s resettlement program and called on members to help evacuees overcome prejudice. The assembly also favored repeal of the Oriental Exclusion Act.
• Minister Charges California Farm Elements Were Behind Evacuation, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Reverend J. B. Hunter of the Rohwer center said powerful California farm interests pushed for wholesale evacuation to eliminate Japanese American competition. He estimated evacuees lost over $200,000,000 in property.
• Mike Masaoka Testifies Before Dies Committee on JACL Activities, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Masaoka told the committee that JACL supports segregation based on loyalty rather than ancestry and urged faster release of evacuees. He also described the organization’s oath and policies, which were read into the record.

Military & Veterans

• Masaoka Pleads for Democracy of All Peoples, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Former JACL executive secretary Mike Masaoka made a stirring closing statement to the Dies Committee calling for democratic treatment of evacuees. He asked for naturalization or friendly alien status for Japanese parents whose sons serve in the U.S. Army.
• Nisei Soldiers Find California Visits Pleasant, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Private George Inagaki reported no unpleasant incidents during his visit to California after the ruling allowing uniformed servicemen to travel to evacuated areas. Other servicemen similarly reported no trouble, suggesting the anti-evacuee campaign has not gained mass appeal.
• News from the Combat Team: Contributions from Soldiers to Paralysis Funds Top $1400, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Soldiers of the Japanese American combat team at Camp Shelby raised over $1400 for the fight against polio in Hawaii. The unit’s new band also debuted at a regimental parade and the men enjoyed a rodeo outing.

JACL

• Kido Declares Two Actions ‘Vindication’, by P.C. Staff, page 1. JACL National President Saburo Kido said the Arizona court ruling and favorable testimony before the Dies Committee vindicated the organization’s stand. He expressed confidence the American public will not abandon democratic principles in wartime hysteria.

Community

• Four Nisei Beet Workers Sent Back to Poston Center, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Four evacuees who left Colorado beet fields without proper travel permits were apprehended in Denver and ordered returned to the Poston relocation center. Their work privileges will be revoked, according to WRA district supervisor Harold Choate.
• 125 Heart Mountain Evacuees To Work Farms in Wash., by P.C. Staff, page 2. 126 evacuees from the Heart Mountain relocation center were moved to Dayton, Washington to do farm work for a canning company. It was the first group cleared under the new congressional farm labor program.
• Intermountain Newspapers Find Nothing Alarming at Minidoka Relocation Center, by D. M., page 4. Reporters from Salt Lake Tribune and Idaho Daily Statesman who visited Minidoka found no evidence of hoarded food or strong pro-Japan sentiment. They described the turning of desert into productive farmland as the most exciting discovery.
• Minidoka’s Sageland Yields First Crop of Farm Products, by Saburo Kido, page 6. Minidoka’s evacuee farm project produced its first harvest of radishes and nappa for community mess halls. Plans call for 205 acres of vegetables and expanded livestock operations to feed the center’s population of 7,000.
• Arkansas Gazette Publishes Straightforward Presentation of Life in Relocation Centers, by Clovis Copeland, page 7. The Little Rock Arkansas Gazette devoted almost a full page to a straightforward look at life at the Jerome and Rohwer centers. Staff correspondent Clovis Copeland reports that many evacuees see relocation as a blessing in disguise and describes community activities.
• Methodists Hold Confab in Denver, by P.C. Staff, page 7. About 85 Japanese Methodist pastors and laymen began a five-day conference in Denver to discuss the work of evacuee pastors and future Christian programs. Prominent Caucasian clergy were among the speakers.
• Friends Concentrate On Finding Housing For Resettlers, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Floyd Schmoe of the American Friends Service Committee said the organization will focus on finding housing rather than jobs for resettling evacuees. Hostels in Chicago, Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Des Moines have already aided over 1,000 evacuees.

Commentary

• Unconstitutional, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial celebrates the Arizona superior court’s ruling that the state’s restrictive commercial law violates constitutional guarantees. It warns native fascists that wartime does not suspend constitutional protections.
• Of What Avail?, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial argues that the Dies Committee’s two months of investigation produced nothing relevant to national security and praises the WRA for its work. It concludes that the JACL’s reputation remains intact despite the committee’s attacks.
• Two Questions, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial raises questions about who was responsible for false allegations attributed to Congressman Starnes, who denied making them. It asks how many other Dies Committee charges are similarly issued under disavowed congressional names.
• Anniversary Message, by P.C. Staff, page 4. On the sixth anniversary of the Marco Polo Bridge incident, the editorial honors Chinese endurance and urges Japanese Americans to draw strength from it. It notes that the suffering of Japanese Americans is small compared to war’s wider tragedies.
• Hawaiian Solution of ‘Japanese Problem’ Urged for Mainland, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The Idaho Daily Statesman reprinted an editorial praising Hawaii’s approach of investigating individuals rather than treating all Japanese as suspect. It argues loyal Japanese Americans deserve equal rights and that blanket condemnation denies the principles America fights for.
• Letters to Coast Editors Speak Against Fascistic Racial Bias, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Letters from Sacramento and Seattle readers condemn racial intolerance and the Dies Committee’s treatment of evacuees. One writer warns that dissension among Americans plays into Goebbels’ propaganda goals.
• Our Air Force Proves Its Worth, by Peter Wood, page 4. Wood describes the Northwest African Air Force’s success, noting its combined British and American character and its strategic innovations. He credits the force’s leadership with developing daytime precision bombing into a decisive independent weapon.
• Mr. Dies and the White Man’s Burden, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Hosokawa challenges Congressman Dies’s attribution of racial hatred to coddling of minorities, arguing the evidence instead shows inadequate legal protection for racial minorities. He says Dies’s remarks reflect outdated white-supremacist ideology.
• Colorado Calling!, by Joe Masaoka, page 6. Masaoka criticizes the Denver Post for inflammatory headlines about evacuees and exposes a Rocky Ford cafe’s refusal to serve Japanese Americans. He notes the refusal violates Colorado’s civil rights law.
• Ann Nisei Says: Start Now to Can Fruits, Vegetables For Winter Use, by Ann Nisei, page 7. Ann Nisei advises resettlers in midwestern and eastern states to preserve food for winter through canning, freezing, storage, or dehydration. She offers practical guidance on which fruits and vegetables to can and safe canning methods.

In-Depth

• Some Recent Material on Pacific Scene, by William H. Chamberlin, page 5. This column reviews several recent books on Japan, Asia, and American policy in the Pacific, including works by John Patric, Hillis Lory, and Harold Howard. Chamberlin’s review notes Patric’s favorable portrayal of ordinary Japanese and Howard’s call for an Asian Monroe Doctrine.

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