The fight over Proposition 15 and the Alien Land Law

Vol. 23, No. 16, October 26, 1946. 8 pages. View this issue

Proposition 15 and California’s Alien Land Law ran through most of this eight-page issue. Opposition grew across the state: the Citizens’ Committee Against 15 formed in San Francisco, church and civic groups in Southern California urged a no vote, and the American Veterans Committee recommended defeat. Mike Masaoka asked a Los Angeles chapter of that group to join the fight. A state senator, John F. Shelley, recalled his stand against restrictions in the Legislature. On the front page, the ACLU filed suit for Tom Tamotsu Ariza to restore the citizenship he renounced at Tule Lake, a case that could affect about 4,000 others.

Elsewhere in the issue, Akira Iwamura, a returned veteran, faced a state effort to confiscate his Selma farm, and the Southern California Civil Rights Defense Union passed its work to the JACL. Bill Hosokawa’s column described moving into a Denver home, and Laurence I. Hewes, Jr. wrote on minority groups and the Pacific area. A Fresno dinner dance honored Nisei veterans and Gold Star mothers.

What’s in this issue

Incarceration & Redress

• Civil Liberties Union Files Suit for Restoration of Rights Renounced by Nisei in Camp, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The ACLU filed suit on behalf of Tom Tamotsu Ariza to restore the American citizenship he renounced while detained at the Tule Lake relocation center. The case could affect roughly 4,000 other Tule Lake renunciants and may reach the U.S. Supreme Court.
• Perry Doll? Palo Alto Times Asks Defeat of Proposition 15, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Palo Alto Times editorialized against Proposition 15, calling the submission of the Alien Land Law issue ill-timed and needless. It argued the question should be decided by the courts rather than voters.
• Work of Southern California Civil Rights Defense Union Will Be Carried on By JACL, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Southern California Civil Rights Defense Union dissolved and transferred its work to the JACL following an emergency conference. JACL leaders cited their growing chapter network and legislative activity as reasons for the merger.
• Citizens Committee Formed to Fight Land Law Proposal, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Citizens’ Committee Against 15, organized in San Francisco, announced active opposition to Proposition 15. Members cited the wartime record of Japanese Americans as reason to reject the measure.
• Anti-Restrictive Covenant Used By Civil Rights Group to Fight Non-White Housing Restrictions, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Los Angeles Civil Rights Congress launched an anti-restrictive covenant to counter neighbors seeking to oust the Yamato family from their West Los Angeles home. Veterans groups picketed a real estate office in response.
• Counties Liable for Relief to Evacuee Groups, by P.C. Staff, page 2. A State Welfare agency ruled that evacuees who lived in Imperial County before evacuation keep their residence status there. The ruling applies to a family seeking relief after leaving a relocation center.
• Peru to Permit 24 Japanese to Return to Homes, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Peruvian government agreed to readmit only 24 of 400 Japanese residents interned in the United States during the war. The rest face deportation to Japan as illegal entrants despite having been brought by military authorities.
• State Seeks to Confiscate Farm of Two Nisei Veterans, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Akira Iwamura, a returned veteran, was served an Alien Land Law escheat summons seeking confiscation of his Selma farm. His brother Cecil, a 442nd veteran, is also affected by the state’s action.

Military & Veterans

• Salt Lake VFW Post Extends Welcome to Nisei Veterans, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Atomic Post No. 4855 of the VFW in Salt Lake City unanimously voted to invite Japanese American overseas veterans to join. The resolution praised the record of Nisei soldiers and rejected rumors of discrimination.
• Atomic Post Resolution Recalls Brilliant Record of Nisei GIs, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Salt Lake City VFW post resolved to invite Nisei overseas veterans to join. The resolution cited their brilliant wartime record and rejected rumors of discrimination.
• Tom Ariza Reported Awaiting Induction Into U.S. Army, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The ACLU filed suit for Tom Tamotsu Ariza to restore citizenship he renounced at Tule Lake. The case may affect about 4,000 renunciants and could reach the U.S. Supreme Court.
• San Joaquin Valley Nisei Veterans Feted, by P.C. Staff, page 2. About 500 Nisei veterans and 25 Gold Star mothers were honored at a dinner dance in Fresno attended by 1500 people. Lieut. Col. J. C. Cairns praised the wartime record of Japanese American soldiers.
• Nisei Soldier Aids Recovery Of Stolen Rings, by P.C. Staff, page 3. T/3 Paul M. Hayami helped recover two U.S. Naval Academy rings taken from prisoners of war aboard the Nitta Maru. The rings were found at the home of a suspect’s wife and will be held as evidence before return.
• Traveling Office Distributes Forms On Evacuee Losses, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A traveling office staffed by four people distributed evacuee loss forms to persons in Vanport City. The forms list property losses suffered during the 1942 mass evacuation.
• American Veterans Committee Of California Recommends Defeat of Proposition 15, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The American Veterans Committee’s 22-man state planning council recommended defeat of Proposition 15 and passage of the FEPC initiative. The recommendation will be sent to 108 AVC chapters across California.

Commentary

• Editorial: Alien Fishing Test, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The ACLU filed a brief asking the California Supreme Court to strike down the 1945 amendment barring Japanese aliens from commercial fishing. The Torao Takahashi test case is under consideration by the state’s highest court.
• Church, Civic Groups Support FEPC, Oppose Alien Land Law, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Church and civic organizations in Southern California recommended a yes vote on FEPC and no on Proposition 15. The Catholic Interracial Council condemned Proposition 15 as a restatement of racist principles.
• An Answer for Sgt. Iwamura, by Los Angeles Daily News, page 3. The Los Angeles Daily News reprinted Akira Iwamura’s letter questioning how California can seize a veteran’s farm while honoring Nisei combat service. The editorial argues that economic opportunity must not be limited by race.
• Election in California, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial welcomes the opposition of San Francisco’s Democratic and Republican committees to Proposition 15, tracing the long history of anti-Japanese politics in California. It argues that defeating the measure would repudiate the Alien Land Law and mark a significant development in state politics.
• Minority Groups and the Pacific Area, by Laurence I. Hewes, Jr., page 4. Hewes argues that the rapidly changing Pacific Coast population offers an opportunity for progressive race relations. He catalogs legal, literary, and legislative advances while warning of continuing discrimination.
• Nisei GIs in Japan, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Nearly a thousand Nisei soldiers still in training at the Military Intelligence Service language school are preparing to help democratize Japan during occupation. Their work includes war crimes evidence and investigations supporting the Allied occupation.
• The Nisei and Political Action, by P.C. Staff, page 4. This editorial examines the broad coalition opposing Proposition 15 and the history of the Alien Land Law. It frames the JACL Anti-Discrimination Committee’s campaign as the Nisei’s first major statewide political action.
• News-Letter: Nisei Are Not Keeping Apace With Issues Which Affect Them, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The column argues that many Nisei are uninformed about naturalization, evacuee compensation, and JACL legislative efforts at a critical moment. It urges greater membership, public relations work, and political participation.
• From the Frying Pan, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Hosokawa describes finally moving into a home in Denver after months of temporary lodging. He reflects on the household’s belongings, neighbors, and a repairman’s visit.
• Tomorrow’s Heirs, by Sachi L. Wada, page 5. Wada reflects on wartime service, the need to resist racial division, and a encounter with a blind Black man in Minneapolis. She closes with hope that children of all colors will inherit a better world.

JACL

• Plans Set for Intermountain Area JACL Convention, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Headquarters for the Intermountain District JACL convention, scheduled for December 14 to 16, will be at the Washington Hotel in Weiser, Idaho. Attendees should contact the convention secretary immediately for accommodations.

Arts & Entertainment

• Menlo Park Issei Exhibits Paintings, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Shin Adachi, a San Mateo nurseryman, exhibited two paintings at the Palace of Legion of Honor in San Francisco. Adachi began painting at the Topaz relocation center, and the exhibit also features drawings by Miine Okubo.

Community

• State Senator Shelley Recalls Fight in California Legislature Against Restrictions, by P.C. Staff, page 2. State Senator John F. Shelley described his opposition to bills that would have deported Japanese Americans and barred their reentry from relocation centers. He recounted introducing Nisei veterans of the 100th Battalion to the Senate floor.
• Church, Civic Groups Support FEPC, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Southern California organizations overwhelmingly opposed Proposition 15 and backed FEPC. The Welfare Council for Metropolitan Los Angeles voted unanimously against the measure.
• American Service Committee Reports On Japan Relief, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The American Friends Service Committee began a feeding program in Japan with surplus food purchases. Supplies will target babies, institutionalized children, and tubercular patients.
• Nisei Takes Editorship of Colorado Paper, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Katherine Kawamura, former English editor of the Rocky Shimpo, became editor of The Paonian, a weekly in Paonia, Colorado. She will be the only Nisei in the community of about 1000.
• Testimonial Dinner Will Honor Nisei Veterans in L.A., by P.C. Staff, page 3. Southern California leaders will honor the wartime record of Nisei soldiers at a testimonial dinner on Nov. 3 hosted by the Nisei Council. Guests include Nisei veterans and mothers of Nisei killed in service.
• Second Conference Of San Francisco Nisei Planned, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A second San Francisco area Nisei conference may be held in January following the first conference on Oct. 19. Legislative, housing, education, and recreation problems were discussed.
• Masaoka Asks AVC Support of Fight Against Prop. 15, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Mike Masaoka asked the West Los Angeles American Veterans Committee to vote no on Proposition 15. He warned the measure could open the door to discrimination against other minority groups.
• Three Nisei Play Football Game in British Columbia, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Three Nisei players from Honolulu’s Kaimuki school team competed in a football game in Vancouver, the first Japanese ancestry athletes to play in western British Columbia since 1942. Their team lost 13 to 6.

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