The California alien land law heads to the Supreme Court

Vol. 25, No. 11, September 20, 1947. 8 pages. View this issue

A date was set for the Supreme Court to hear arguments on the constitutionality of California’s alien land law: October 21. The front page reported that final briefs in the Oyama case were being completed, and that attorney A. L. Wirin had come to Washington to settle details for the oral argument. Elsewhere, Japanese Canadians protested the narrow terms of a government inquiry into evacuation property losses, and the Bureau of Internal Revenue dropped a tax certificate requirement for Japanese resident aliens traveling to Hawaii after the JACL Anti-Discrimination Committee made its case.

The issue also looked at the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. Representatives of the French and American governments were to attend an October 30 ceremony at Bruyeres, France, where the JACL would present a plaque honoring the unit for rescuing the Lost Battalion. Marion Tajiri reviewed a soldier’s letters, Larry Tajiri wrote about Nisei civil service workers, and editorials took up Nisei teachers and Army linguists.

What’s in this issue

Incarceration & Redress

• Supreme Court Test Looms on Constitutional Validity of California Alien Land Law, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on October 21 regarding the constitutionality of California’s alien land law, a case stemming from the Oyama decision. The JACL Discrimination Committee reports that final briefs are being completed and that the case could affect large areas of the western states with alien land laws.
• Japanese Canadians Protest Narrow Frame of Proposed Inquiry, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The National Conference of Japanese Canadian Organizations sent a resolution to Ottawa protesting the narrow terms of reference for a government inquiry into evacuation property losses. The group argued that the limited scope excludes many justified claims and called for restitution covering all economic losses from forced evacuation.

Military & Veterans

• Nisei Army Officer Stands Pat Despite Yugoslav Ultimatum in Trieste Boundary Dispute, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Lieut. Harry Konishi of Platteville, Colorado, led a small squad of American soldiers who refused a Yugoslav demand to vacate a 60-yard patch of Italian territory near Trieste. The standoff was reported by U.S. Army officials, who said the matter remained unsettled.
• U.S., France to Honor 442nd Combat Team, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Representatives of the French and American governments will attend a ceremony at Bruyeres, France, on October 30 where the JACL will present a plaque honoring the 442nd Regimental Combat Team for rescuing the Lost Battalion. The plaque’s inscription credits the Nisei soldiers with breaking the German defenses and rescuing the 141st Infantry Battalion.
• Army Linguists, by P.C. Staff, page 4. This editorial describes the role of the Military Intelligence Service Language School, which trained about 6,000 men, most of Japanese ancestry. It credits Nisei linguists with saving American lives and shortening the Pacific war.

Community

• Nisei Girl Arrives from Hiroshima to Attend Los Angeles School, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Yuriko Yamada, an eighteen-year-old American-born Nisei who survived the Hiroshima atom bombing, arrived in Los Angeles to enroll at Roosevelt High School. She had been stranded in Japan by the outbreak of war, and her father was killed in the blast.
• Chicago Nisei Courier Sold to Rival Firm, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Chicago Nisei Courier, published by Earle Yusa, was sold to the Chicago Shimpo, according to a joint announcement by Yusa and Shimpo publisher Ryoichi Fujii. The transaction was announced the previous week.
• Prof. Ikuo Oyama, Noted Exiled Professor, Returns to Japan, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Prof. Ikuo Oyama, a political refugee and former Japanese liberal leader, left Chicago to return to Japan after 14 years in exile. He had come to the United States in 1933 after an attempt on his life by militarists and had served as a research associate at Northwestern University.
• Nisei Welder Badly Burned in Freak Blast, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Fumio (Buddy) Mizuno, 27, was seriously burned when his clothing caught fire from an explosion of welding fuel while he worked inside a tank in Salt Lake City. Mizuno is active in the Salt Lake JACL and is in charge of the program for the 1948 national convention.
• San Francisco JACL Considers Credit Union, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The San Francisco JACL is giving preliminary consideration to establishing a local credit union. A report on the National JACL credit union, which has 200 members and $50,000 in paid-in capital, will be presented by Yasuo W. Abiko at a September 25 meeting.
• One Killed, Three Injured in San Jose Cafe Building Fire, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A fire destroyed the Kiraku-tei restaurant building in San Jose on September 16, killing 76-year-old Yaichi Shiba and seriously injuring three others. Roomers escaped by jumping from windows or sliding down improvised rope of sheets and blankets, and the cause remained under investigation.
• Mita Employed by Office of Wisconsin Attorney General, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Roy G. Mita, a 442nd combat team veteran and University of Wisconsin graduate, was admitted to the Wisconsin bar and is now working as an examiner in the state attorney general’s office. He was admitted to the Wisconsin bar on August 2.
• Domestic Detained for Questioning in Dyche Death, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Taro Okuchi, a domestic employee, was detained without charge for questioning in the death of Mrs. Illa Gary Dyche in Wheaton, Illinois. A coroner’s jury expressed dissatisfaction with his account that she died from a fall downstairs.
• Postscript, by P.C. Staff, page 2. A personal column reports on Sam Tanaka’s move from Friends Service Committee work to JACL-ADC duties and comments on his character and approach. It also notes his rivalry with the Shimpo’s editor over JACL coverage.
• Nisei Women Lead Men in Interracial Marriages in Hawaii, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Department of Public Health figures show that more women of Japanese ancestry than men married non-Japanese in Hawaii during the past fiscal year. The report also provides marriage and birth statistics broken down by ethnic group.
• Fellowship Group Fetes Minister, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The Fresno Christian Fellowship held a reception for the Rev. and Mrs. S. Uyemura and their daughters at the Methodist church. The Rev. Uyemura will serve as co-advisor for the young people’s fellowship.

National

• Tax Certificates No Longer Required of Japanese Aliens for Hawaii, Mainland Travel, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Bureau of Internal Revenue eliminated the requirement that resident aliens of Japanese ancestry file tax compliance certificates before traveling between the mainland and Hawaii. The change followed representations made by the JACL Anti-Discrimination Committee.
• Subordination Produces Fear, Hate, Cayton Tells CL Group, by William R. Simms, page 2. Author Horace Cayton told a JACL-sponsored discussion group in Chicago that subordination based on force produces fear and hate in the human personality. He traced the race relations cycle on the Pacific Coast and argued that discrimination causes daily injuries to minorities’ spirits.

Commentary

• Wear It Proudly: Letters of a Nisei Soldier Tell the Grim Story of War, by Marion Tajiri, page 2. This review examines William Shinji Tsuchida’s collection of letters from his service as a medical aid man with Company I of the 71st Infantry. The letters reveal the daily realities of combat, his close bond with his platoon, and his thoughts on his family’s wartime evacuation.
• Nisei Civil Service Workers, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. This column traces the wartime removal of Nisei from California civil service jobs and the later loyalty investigations that threaten civil liberties. It argues that the early discriminatory treatment set a precedent that endangers all government workers today.
• Lost Battalion, by P.C. Staff, page 4. This editorial recounts the 442nd Combat Team’s rescue of the 141st Infantry Battalion at Bruyeres and praises the plaque project honoring the Nisei soldiers. It describes the official French and American participation in the October 30 ceremony.
• Nisei Teachers, by P.C. Staff, page 4. This editorial criticizes California’s public school systems for refusing to hire qualified Japanese American teachers despite their presence in other states and in Hawaii. It urges Nisei to break their silence on the discrimination and calls for democratic hiring practices.

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