Stranded Nisei in Japan and the WRA’s final report, February 1947

Vol. 24, No. 6, February 15, 1947. 8 pages. View this issue

The return of Issei and Nisei stranded in Japan during the war led the front page. Mike Masaoka, JACL’s Washington representative, met State Department officials, who blamed shortages of staff, money and facilities for the delays and described new procedures for temporary passports. The same page took up the WRA final report: it said evacuees had resettled in 47 States, and a former aide to Gen. DeWitt defended the 1942 mass evacuation. Larry Tajiri’s column, “Gen. DeWitt and Prejudice,” set out the report’s answers to DeWitt’s justifications.

Elsewhere, the paper reported that Southern California Issei would petition for the right to naturalize, and that the Senate confirmed Dillon Myer to lead the Federal Public Housing Authority. Bill Hosokawa profiled Rev. Raymond Wasser of Denver, and Ben Kuroki described speaking to young audiences about racial injustice. Editorials covered Utah’s defeated anti-discrimination bills. The sports and community pages carried basketball, bowling and veterans’ news, in this 8-page issue.

What’s in this issue

Incarceration & Redress

• State Department Officials Explain Procedures for Return of Stranded Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 1. JACL Washington representative Mike Masaoka pressed State Department officials to speed the return of qualified Issei and Nisei stranded in Japan during the war. Officials cited staffing and facility shortages and described new procedures allowing consulate officials to issue temporary passports in the field.
• San Diego Nisei Win Clear Title to Property, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Lieut. George Asakawa and his brother Motharu won a court decree confirming clear title to their San Diego County lands against escheat claims. The ruling followed waivers produced by California state officials.
• Associate of Gen. DeWitt Backs Decision for Mass Evacuation, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Former DeWitt aide Hubbard Moffit defended the 1942 mass evacuation and disputed the WRA final report’s criticism of it. He argued that the Japanese were detained for reasonable periods and that General DeWitt harbored no racial animosity.
• Death of Nisei in WRA Camp Noted in Bill, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Rep. Gordon McDonough introduced a private bill seeking a $5000 payment to the family of Paul Toshio Takemura, who died in 1943 at the Granada relocation center. The bill would settle claims arising from alleged negligence by WRA officials.
• Gen. DeWitt, Order Defended in U.S. Court, by P.C. Staff, page 2. A government appeal seeks to overturn a nominal $100 judgment won by Homer Wilcox against Gen. DeWitt’s 1942 exclusion order. Wilcox, excluded from the coast after a conspiracy conviction, argued the grand jury that indicted him was improperly constituted because women were barred from it.
• Idaho Falls JACL First to Complete Membership Drive, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Idaho Falls JACL chapter completed its 1947 membership drive first, registering 99 members, well above its goal of 60. The drive was carried out by two teams and nearly every eligible Nisei in the community joined.
• Discover Body of Man Missing for Two Months, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Remains of Tooru Tagami, 61, who had vanished after falling from a westbound train in December, were found by track walkers near Truckee, Nevada. Investigators were trying to determine whether his death was suicide, violence or an accident.

National

• Evacuees From Pacific Coast Have Resettled in 47 States, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The WRA final report says about half of the 106,925 evacuees returned to the Pacific coast while thousands resettled in Midwestern, Eastern and Rocky Mountain cities. It also notes that evacuees gained wider occupational and housing opportunities elsewhere.
• Report Civil Rights Defense Group Shifts Backing to New Case, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Northern California CRDU withdrew support from the Oyama escheat case and switched to a suit involving a veteran of Japanese ancestry, likely the Fujita case in Selma. Oyama’s attorney A. L. Wirin said he would continue pursuing the Supreme Court appeal.
• Southern California Issei Will Petition for Citizenship, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Issei at a mass meeting in Los Angeles, called jointly by the JACL and the Los Angeles JACL Anti-Discrimination Committee, decided to circulate a petition for naturalization rights. An executive committee was named to lead the drive.
• Senate Confirms Dillon Myer’s Nomination as FPHA Chief, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Senate confirmed former WRA director Dillon Myer as administrator of the Federal Public Housing Authority over objections from Senators Cain and Taft. Sen. Tobey led the support, praising Myer’s character and integrity.
• Canadians Seek to Keep Control Over Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Canada’s Deputy Labor Minister Arthur MacNamara indicated the government may seek legislation to control movement of persons of Japanese ancestry for at least two more years. The aim is to prevent a return to British Columbia and keep them dispersed across other provinces.
• Citizenship for Issei to Mean Change in Present Restrictive Treatment, Purcell Declares, by P.C. Staff, page 3. James Purcell of the Civil Rights Defense Union said naturalization changes could affect the discriminatory treatment of resident Japanese aliens under the Alien Land law, though the law’s escheat would not be retroactively undone. Joe Grant Masaoka warned that anti-Japanese groups might use this interpretation to press further confiscations.
• McCarran Bill Will Authorize Payment for Property Damage to Contraband Articles, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Senator Pat McCarran introduced a bill authorizing payment up to $1000 for loss or damage to contraband property deposited by alien enemies and Japanese American citizens. JACL’s Mike Masaoka said the bill complements the proposed evacuation claims legislation.

Commentary

• Federal Agency Monitored Air Signals, But Found No Spies, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The FCC investigated 1760 reports of suspicious radio broadcasts on the Pacific coast in early 1942 and found no spies traceable to persons of Japanese ancestry. Most signals came from U.S. Army stations or mundane sources.
• Editorials: Killed in Utah, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The Pacific Citizen editorial condemns the defeat of Utah’s Selvin-Elggren anti-discrimination and fair employment bills in the state Senate, attributing it to bigotry and real estate interests enforcing racial restrictions in housing. It notes the broader pattern of residential segregation in western communities.
• Segregation Patterns, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial praises the reopening of San Francisco’s former Japanese YMCA as an interracial community house and the decision of Nisei students at UC Berkeley to oppose reopening a segregated clubhouse. It frames both as victories for racial freedom in California.
• Dave Beck in Hawaii, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial criticizes Teamsters boss Dave Beck for refusing Nisei membership in Seattle while launching a drive to organize 30,000 Hawaiian workers, many of Japanese ancestry. It questions the sincerity of his organizing campaign given his record of discrimination.
• The First Americans, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial comments on a Los Angeles ruling requiring Mrs. Harry Crocker and her daughters, of American Indian ancestry, to leave their West Hollywood home under a restrictive deed. It observes that Native Americans’ land rights have been as precarious as those of other minorities.
• Gen. DeWitt and Prejudice, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. Larry Tajiri examines Dillon Myer’s WRA final report rebutting Gen. DeWitt’s four justifications for mass evacuation, finding them tenuous or unfounded. He notes DeWitt’s racist testimony and the FCC’s finding that no illicit radio signaling occurred.
• Ben Kuroki Prefers to Take Message to Youth of Nation, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Ben Kuroki describes his lecture tour speaking on racial injustice, finding high school and college audiences more receptive than adult civic groups. He recounts a highly successful talk at a Washington all-Negro high school.
• Pastor Fights for Minority Rights, by Bill Hosokawa, page 6. Bill Hosokawa profiles Rev. Raymond Wasser of Denver, who is moving to a Pasadena church, and describes how he helped open Denver restaurants and hotels to Negroes through a campaign of organized confrontation. Hosokawa notes Wasser’s continued support for Nisei causes.
• Tomorrow’s Heirs: Never Tolds, by Sachi L. Wada, page 6. Sachi Wada presents a fictional father-and-daughter dialogue about a dreamy man who gave up writing for love and hopes his daughter will finish the picture he began. The column is an imaginative vignette rather than a news report.

Community

• Return of Evacuee Families to Santa Clara Valley Told in Collier’s, by Frank J. Taylor, page 2. Frank Taylor’s Collier’s article describes the Santa Clara Valley as a bright spot of tolerance, where WRA district supervisor James Edmiston fought boycotts and helped evacuees find jobs and housing. The piece highlights the energy and persistence that made resettlement there largely successful.
• Navy Veteran Will Speak at Dinner in Ogden, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Robert L. Shelby, a Navy veteran and Utah state field representative for USES, will speak at the Nisei Veterans’ Homecoming dinner dance in Ogden on Feb. 21. The event, jointly sponsored by local JACL and church groups, is expected to draw nearly 100 Nisei veterans.
• Chicago JACL Member to Sing in Opera, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Chicago JACL member Arlo Tatum will perform the role of Germont in Verdi’s La Traviata with the Midwest Opera Company on Feb. 23. Tatum is a frequent soloist at Nisei gatherings.
• JACL Group Leaves on Junket to Raise Funds in Hawaii, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A four-man JACL delegation departed San Francisco for a month-long tour of Hawaii to seek support for the Anti-Discrimination Committee’s legislative program. The group hoped Hawaii’s Japanese American community would back naturalization for aliens and the evacuation claims bill.
• Registration Cards No Longer Required of Canadian Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The New Canadian reported that persons of Japanese ancestry in Canada no longer need Japanese registration cards or Labor Ministry permits to buy or lease land. The change took effect in January.
• University of California Nisei Reject Proposed Reopening of Club on Segregated Basis, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Nisei students at UC Berkeley voted 3 to 2 against reopening the Japanese Students’ Clubhouse, arguing it would foster self-segregation on campus. They recommended using the building’s rent income for a Nisei scholarship or loan fund.
• Terno Odow Named to Lambda Delta Sigma, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Terno Odow, an engineering student at the University of Utah, was pledged to the Lambda Delta Sigma fraternity. A former Army veteran with service in several Pacific areas, he was promoted to first lieutenant in the university ROTC unit.
• Capital Celebrates Second Birthday, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The Nisei USO of Washington marked its second anniversary with ceremonies honoring junior hostesses who volunteered over 500 hours. Speakers included Mike Masaoka and Rev. Nelsen Schlegel, who praised the service to servicemen.
• Okada Team Holds First Place in Bowling League, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The Okada Insurance bowling team led the Salt Lake City JACL league after beating Terashima Studio three to one. Tadao Sako posted a 604 series and Doug Ogata and Hito Okada also hit high games.

JACL

• Chapters Name Membership Chairmen, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Membership campaign chairmen were named for the San Francisco, St. Louis, Gardena and Portland JACL chapters as the 1947 national drive began. Oxnard and Pasadena, recently reactivated, are expected to join the campaign.

Military & Veterans

• Rep. Clason Will Not Object to Amendment of Citizenship Bill, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Rep. Charles Clason indicated he would accept an amendment extending naturalization to Issei parents of American veterans. Mike Masaoka argued that parents of Nisei soldiers deserve the same consideration as other veterans’ parents, regardless of race.
• San Francisco GI Wins Promotion, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Toshio H. Horio of San Francisco was promoted to Technician Fifth Grade while serving with General MacArthur’s headquarters in Tokyo. He had attended the University of California before entering the service.
• Army Program Reports Plans for Return of Dead, by Rev. George Aki, page 3. Rev. George Aki reports that the Army will begin returning American war dead this summer, including those buried in Henri Chapelle and in Hawaiian cemeteries. Next of kin will receive questionnaires with options for burial and military escorts will accompany all remains.
• Bill Seeks Entry of Canadian Nisei Wife of U.S. Soldier, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Rep. George Miller reintroduced a private bill to admit Mary Enta Kitajima, Canadian-born wife of ex-Sgt. Robert Kitajima, under the Soldier Brides’ Act. Masaoka said two more such bills for Canadian-born wives of Nisei veterans would be introduced.
• Rep. Walter Plans Measure for Wife of Lieut. Kimura, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Rep. Francis Walter planned to introduce a special bill admitting Seiko Jane Kimura, Canadian-born wife of Lt. Makoto Kimura, to the United States. Masaoka described Walter as sympathetic to the plight of servicemen who married Japanese women.
• Many Nisei Eligible for Autos Under Amputee Program, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Delegate Joseph Farrington asked Veterans’ Administrator Bradley to help 42 amputee veterans in Hawaii, mostly Nisei of the 442nd and 100th, obtain cars. He argued the $1600 federal limit was insufficient given higher island prices.
• Report Promotions of Nisei Soldiers on Duty in Japan, by P.C. Staff, page 7. GHQ announced promotions for five Nisei soldiers serving at General MacArthur’s headquarters in Tokyo, including Nobuo Kono, Maya Miyamoto and Charlie Kobayashi. Each soldier’s training and background are briefly described.

Arts & Entertainment

• Dress Designer Plans First Fashion Show, by Don Magnuson, page 7. Seattle Nisei designer Suzy Fukuyama is preparing a fashion show of about 40 garments at the Olympic Hotel on Feb. 28. Her small home dressmaking shop grew from a single friend’s request into a business with three employees.

Sports

• Methodist Cagers Take Championship, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Spokane’s Grant Street Methodist No. 1 team won the Class B Inter-church Basketball championship by defeating Hays Park Methodist 32-20. Hiromi Kurose and Everett Matsui led the attack.

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