Roosevelt’s letter to the Senate and the limits on returning to the West Coast

Vol. 17, No. 12, September 25, 1943. 8 pages. View this issue

President Roosevelt’s letter to the Senate of September 14 led this 8-page issue, commending the role Japanese Americans had played in the war effort and asking for considerate treatment of the minority. Beside it ran the position of Lieut. Gen. Delos C. Emmons, the new Western Defense Command commander, who said restrictions on returning to West Coast homes would stay in force until a substantial change in the military situation. Elsewhere in the issue, a Gila River baseball game pitted loyal evacuees against segregants, and Joe Masaoka spoke on discrimination to a Colorado conference of social workers.

The editorial page took up the segregation program, the Tule Lake segregation, and the opposition to Dr. Schuichi Kusaka at Smith College. Bill Hosokawa, Galen M. Fisher, Elmer R. Smith and Hito Okada all wrote columns. Taro Yashima’s first cartoon in a new series appeared on page 4, and Rei Kihara’s admission to the Idaho bar was reported on page 3.

What’s in this issue

National

• President Roosevelt Commends Loyal Japanese Americans in Senate Letter, by P.C. Staff, page 1. President Roosevelt praised Japanese Americans for their loyalty and contributions to the war effort in a letter to the Senate. He called for fair and equal treatment of the minority as a vindication of the ideals the nation is fighting for.
• Seek Solution to Philadelphia Housing Needs, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Philadelphia groups, including the American Friends Service Committee, are developing a hostel to house evacuees seeking work in the city. The Citizens’ Cooperating Committee is also assisting the WRA with housing.
• Coast Warehouses Still Hold Stored Goods of Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Government warehouses on the West Coast still hold large amounts of evacuee possessions more than a year after removal. The WRA has moved only about a quarter of the household goods so far.
• FEPC Hears Axis Exploiting Racial Unrest in United States, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Testimony before the President’s Fair Employment Practice Committee warned that Japanese and German propaganda exploited American racial tensions. Hearings also examined discrimination against minorities by railroads and unions.

Military & Veterans

• Restrictions on West Coast Return Remain Until Substantial Military Change, Says Gen. Emmons, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Lieut. Gen. Delos C. Emmons, new Western Defense Command commander, stated that restrictions on Japanese American return to the West Coast will stay in force until a substantial change in the military situation. He also defended the original evacuation as based on military necessity and contrasted it with Hawaii.
• Nisei Make Models for Navy Ship Recognition, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Nisei craftsmen produced carved scale models of enemy ships for use in Navy recognition training. The work was described as contributing to the war effort.
• Official Campaign Combats Agitation Against Japanese Hawaiians, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Military officials in Hawaii launched a drive urging Japanese Hawaiians to solidify their role as American citizens. Lt. Col. Charles Selby warned that rejecting the emperor cult was necessary for acceptance.
• Nisei Engineers Entertain Girls from Arkansas Relocation Centers, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Combat Engineers at Camp Shelby hosted 100 young women from Arkansas centers with a dance, boat rides, and a picnic. The weekend program was planned by a long list of committee members.
• Four Enlisted Men Sent to Special Schools, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Four enlisted men from the Combat Engineers were sent to specialized Army schools for training in water sanitation and radio operation. Several were licensed professionals before enlisting.
• Japanese American Is Regular on Camp Grant Eleven, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Cpl. Hideyo Kakuuchi, a former Whittier College player, became a guard on the Camp Grant football team. He had seen action against Michigan and Illinois.
• Instructors Credited With Success of U.S. Navy’s Japanese Language Program, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Nisei instructors at the Navy’s Japanese language school in Boulder were honored when the largest group of Caucasians ever to learn Japanese graduated. The school’s achievement depended on these instructors, who were recruited from relocation centers.

Community

• Loyal Evacuees Defeat Segregants in Gila River Baseball Game, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Loyal Japanese Americans at the Gila River relocation center defeated a team of ‘no-no’ evacuees 8 to 0 in a baseball game. The contest was nicknamed by players and spectators as the ‘yes-yes’ versus ‘no-no’ matchup.
• Speaking Before Social Workers, Masaoka Addresses Race Problems, by P.C. Staff, page 1. JACL member Joe Masaoka told a Colorado conference of social welfare workers that discrimination against any minority is an American problem. He argued that intolerance toward Japanese Americans threatens other minority groups as well.
• Nisei Girl Passes Idaho Bar Examination, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Rei Kihara became the first Japanese American woman lawyer in Idaho after being sworn in before the state supreme court. She hoped to open a practice in Boise.
• Granada Resident Becomes Instructor at Michigan University, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Hama Yamasaki left the Amache center to teach at the University of Michigan Japanese language school. She had been an instructor and advisory school board member at Amache.
• Nisei Soldiers Bowl for Arkansas Chinese Sponsor, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A bowling team made up of Japanese American soldiers from Camp Robinson competed in Little Rock’s Classic Bowling League. The team, sponsored by a Chinese American restaurant owner, tied for league leadership after the first week.
• Housing Is Primary Relocation Problem, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Detroit nisei face difficulty finding housing, though some landlords have accepted them after finding them to be good tenants. A Council of Churches worker was assigned to Detroit to help alleviate the housing shortage.
• Hope High School Buildings Will Be Ready for Occupancy, by P.C. Staff, page 8. About 3,000 students began classes at the Gila River center in barracks buildings. New science laboratory buildings were expected to be ready for high school students by early 1944.

Commentary

• Segregation Program Requires Long Preparation, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The WRA’s segregation program required weeks of preparation to move 15,000 people and their belongings efficiently and humanely. Officials planned carefully for freight cars, warehouse space, and staffing.
• Education and the Nisei: International Finance, Income Tax Work, Advertising Among Fields Promising to Nisei, by Elmer R. Smith, page 4. This installment of the education series argues that business careers offer nisei opportunities in international finance, income tax work, and advertising. It urges students to choose fields based on realistic employment prospects rather than romanticized promises.
• Renewed Efforts for Resettlement Expected, by P.C. Staff, page 4. With the segregation program underway, the editorial predicts renewed resettlement efforts, though most of the work remains ahead. It notes that the evacuees who have left so far are mostly young people without family responsibilities.
• We Cannot Fail, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial argues that the nisei must prove democracy can extend equal rights and duties to citizens of any origin. It urges them to fight prejudice in their communities, supported by allied groups.
• Tragedy at Tule Lake, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial mourns those who lost faith in democracy and were segregated at Tule Lake, while praising the 90,000 others who kept faith. It concludes that America must not fail these people again.
• Tempest at Smith College, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial condemns local opposition to the appointment of Dr. Schuichi Kusaka at Smith College as an expression of fascist-style intolerance. It praises college president Davis for refusing to fire him.
• Malice in Wonderland, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial questions the military necessity justification for evacuation, noting the four-month delay after Pearl Harbor and the absence of disloyal acts. It argues that racist organizations on the West Coast are pressing to keep Japanese Americans from returning.
• From the Frying Pan, by Bill Hosokawa, page 4. Hosokawa’s column highlights Galen Fisher’s Christian Century analysis of evacuation and notes Sono Osato’s Broadway casting. It also mentions Gila River’s editorial praise for WRA officials and S. I. Hayakawa’s work in semantics.
• Gila Editorial, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Reprinted from the Gila News-Courier, this piece defends WRA officials against criticism that they do not understand the evacuees. It argues they are qualified because they have tried to apply American principles fairly.
• Tojo’s Looking Glass, by Taro Yashima, page 4. The first in a cartoon series by pro-democratic Japanese artist Taro Yashima introduces his work for the Pacific Citizen. Yashima’s life story will be published in book form later.
• What Race-Baiting Costs America, by Galen M. Fisher, page 6. Fisher argues that the evacuation impaired citizenship rights and that race-baiting groups threaten the constitutional rights of all Americans. He weighs these liabilities against assets such as court decisions and support from churches and unions.
• Calling All Chapters!, by Hito Okada, page 6. Okada reports that the JACL St. Paul office is closing after nine months of service to resettlers. The column also acknowledges donations and asks chapters to help with burial plot care in the San Francisco area.
• Good Canadians, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The Grand Forks Gazette editorial argues that some Japanese Canadians are loyal and would fight for Canada if allowed. It cites men wearing service buttons from the last war as evidence.
• Ann Nisei Says: There’s Many a Trick to Save a Favorite Dress, by Ann Nisei, page 7. Ann Nisei offers practical sewing tips for repairing and restyling favorite dresses and suits. Suggestions include using felt appliques, adding contrasting panels, and reworking patterns.
• Nisei Rendering Important Service, by P.C. Staff, page 8. This editorial praises nisei instructors who taught Japanese to Army and Navy students, noting that pre-war Japanese language schools provided the basic training. It predicts Japanese language knowledge will be increasingly important as the Pacific becomes the main theater.

Arts & Entertainment

• Youthful Evacuee Pianist Awarded Music Scholarship, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Eleven-year-old pianist Lewis Izumi received a Curtis Institute scholarship after relocating to Philadelphia. He had earlier performed as a soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Incarceration & Redress

• Utah’s Forgotten Man Denied Pardon by State Board, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Masato Karumai, whose 1926 death sentence was never carried out, was denied a pardon by the Utah State Board of Pardons. His application was one of 17 turned down at the board’s recent meetings.
• U.S. Dismisses Complaint Against Japanese American, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Charges against Jiro Omata for possessing a shotgun and camera in Salt Lake City were dismissed after the prosecutor found no intent to violate the western command’s ban. Omata was allowed to return to his Minnesota home.
• Arizona Court Takes Alien Land Case Under Advisement, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A judge in Phoenix took under advisement whether there was sufficient evidence to try T. G. Decker for conspiracy to violate Arizona’s anti-alien land law. Decker was accused of conspiring with two persons of Japanese ancestry.

JACL

• Idaho Falls JACL Holds Bond Meeting, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Residents of Japanese ancestry in the Idaho Falls area met under JACL sponsorship to promote war bond sales. Local farmers spoke at the meeting, which was arranged with the sheriff’s help.
• Teiko Ishida to Open New York JACL Office, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Teiko Ishida, secretary of the National JACL office, left Salt Lake City to run the New York office as acting national secretary. National secretary Mike Masaoka is on leave in the armed forces.

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