Hood River’s fighting minister and the Oyama land law case

Vol. 25, No. 15, October 18, 1947. 8 pages. View this issue

The Rev. W. Sherman Burgoyne led the front page. Richard L. Neuberger wrote about the Hood River minister who stood up for Japanese American soldiers when the American Legion took their names off the county honor roll, and who was later sent to a much smaller pastorate. Beside it, attorneys prepared to tell the U.S. Supreme Court that California’s Alien Land Law is race legislation, in the case of Fred Oyama. Mike Masaoka, JACL ADC director, urged support for three bills in the Senate, and a hearing in Fresno on state seizure of vineyard land under the same law began.

Elsewhere, Bill Hosokawa wrote on Nisei golf and a weekend with Masaoka at the ballpark, and Larry Tajiri turned to Chinese expelled from Sonora and a Klondike dog-team handler. Editorials covered restrictive housing covenants, the Homer Wilcox case and the Korematsu decision, and Canadian rights. The 442nd’s rescue of the Lost Battalion at Bruyeres, a JACL leadership workshop in Chicago, and the Wally Yonamine football report fill the rest.

What’s in this issue

National

• No Reward for Valor, by By Richard L. Neuberger, page 1. Rev. W. Sherman Burgoyne defended Japanese American soldiers when the Hood River American Legion removed their names from the county honor roll. Despite his national recognition, he was later reassigned to a much smaller pastorate, which Neuberger argues sends a discouraging message to ministers who stand up for minorities.
• Counsel in Oyama Test Case Will Declare California Land Statute Is Race Legislation, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Attorneys will argue before the U.S. Supreme Court that the California Alien Land Law is unconstitutional race legislation targeting Japanese, in the case of Fred Oyama, a citizen, and his Japan-born father. The brief contends the law denies Fred Oyama equal protection and privileges of citizenship.
• Wisconsin Senator Holds Key to Legislation, Says Masaoka, by P.C. Staff, page 1. JACL ADC director Mike Masaoka met Milwaukee JACL members to urge support for three bills that passed the House, including naturalization for parents of soldiers and evacuation claims adjudication. He stated that Senator Alexander Wiley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, holds the key to their passage in the Senate.
• Rights of Japanese Aliens Under Oregon Land Ban Clarified in Court’s Verdict, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Judge James W. Crawford ruled that aliens of Japanese ancestry may live and work on Oregon farmland leased in good faith to a citizen. The decision arose from a suit brought by Kenji Namba, a 442nd veteran, and his father Etsuo Namba.

Community

• Elmer Ioka Drowns While Cleaning Pool, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Elmer Yoshito Ioka, 23, drowned in Glendale, California, on Oct. 13 while cleaning the sides of a swimming pool. He had recently moved from Denver and could not swim.
• Canadian Evacuee Now Heads Toronto Manufacturing Firm, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Art Tateishi, a native of Courtney, B.C., relocated to Toronto after the wartime evacuation and now heads a manufacturing firm employing 60 people. The firm produces record changers and electric fans.
• Radio Writers Guild Official Will Speak to Chicago JACL, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Rod Holmgren, regional vice president of the Radio Writers Guild, will speak at the Chicago JACL meeting on October 30 about freedom of radio and press. Holmgren was formerly a liberal commentator whose program was dropped, prompting protest letters.
• Canadian Group Will Back Evacuation Book, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Cooperative Committee on Japanese Canadians set aside $2000 to publish a record of the 1942 evacuation of persons of Japanese ancestry from the Canadian Pacific coast. The funding was reported in Toronto.
• YWCA Group Holds Program on Public Affairs, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Y Bizpros, a young women’s business group in San Francisco, held a public affairs program titled ‘Make Your Vote Count.’ Speakers included representatives from the Urban League, AVC, and the International Institute.
• Fumi Kawabata, Stage Star, Returns to Native Hawaii, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Honolulu-born vaudeville and stage performer Fumi Kawabata arrived in Hawaii as the first civilian passenger from Tokyo on a Pan American clipper. She is en route to Hollywood after a career spanning America and Japan.
• Nisei Vets Attend U. of Colorado, by P.C. Staff, page 2. About eighty percent of the 54 Nisei students enrolled at the University of Colorado this term are former servicemen. The article lists students by academic department.
• Denver Chapter To Hold Dance, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The JACL Denver chapter will host a Hallowe’en dance on Oct. 31 at the YWCA basement, with bridge available for those who prefer it. George Masunaga, chapter president, is in charge.
• Open House Held by East Bay JACL, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The East Bay JACL chapter scheduled an open house at its new office and clubhouse in Berkeley on October 17. The office was secured through the efforts of Masuji Fujii.
• Housing Restrictions Discussed at JACL Meeting in New York, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The New York JACL chapter discussed restrictive housing covenants at its October meeting. Sam Ishikawa, the new regional director for JACL-ADC in New York, also outlined the organizations’ work and the chapter joined the Eastern District Council.
• Majority of Adult Residents of Denver Favor Segregation of Some Minority Groups, by P.C. Staff, page 2. A Research Enterprises poll for the Denver Post found 65 percent of adult residents favor keeping some racial and religious groups out of certain areas. Sixty-two percent favored restrictive covenants against Oriental Americans.
• Midwest District Council Elects Chairman at Recent Workshop, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Henry Tani of the St. Louis JACL was elected chairman of the Midwest District Council after a leadership workshop in Chicago. Other officers including vice-chairmen, treasurer, historian, and publicity director were also named.
• Seabrook Teenagers to Publish Yearbook, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A group of teenagers at Seabrook Farms is preparing the first bilingual bound yearbook of the community. Orders are due by December 1947.
• Two Nisei Will Attend Council for Unity Meet, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Joe Grant Masaoka and Mari Okazaki are expected to attend the California Council for Civic Unity annual meeting. A plan to develop the council into a full-time organization will be discussed.
• City-Wide Recreation Council Planned, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Abe Hagiwara, recreational director of the Chicago Resettlers Committee, is planning a city-wide recreational council to serve Japanese Americans in the Chicago metropolitan area. The council would include representatives from all community organizations.
• Nisei Appointed to Oakland Mayor’s Unity Committee, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Architect Hachiro Yuasa was appointed by Oakland Mayor Joseph E. Smith to the Mayor’s Committee for Civic Unity. The committee will address minority group problems in Oakland.
• Denver ADC Plans Financial Drive, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The Denver committee for the ADC met to plan a fund drive among Nisei in Denver with a tentative goal of $5000. Organizers emphasized full Nisei participation in the campaign.

Military & Veterans

• Gen. Mark Clark Notes Record of Nisei GIs, by P.C. Staff, page 1. General Mark Clark cited the 442nd Combat Team’s role in Italy in a speech urging America to incorporate its many racial and national groups. He pointed to the diversity of the Fifth Army as an example of American team play.
• Battle Monuments Commission Holds Up Project to Honor Nisei GIs in French City, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A JACL plaque at Bruyeres, France, commemorating the 442nd’s rescue of the Lost Battalion has been held up by the Battle Monuments Commission. The ceremony planned for late October is in abeyance pending the commission’s decision.

Incarceration & Redress

• Seek Escheat of California Farm Property Heating Initiated in Case Against Fresno Residents, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A hearing began in Fresno Superior Court on the state’s suit to escheat 80 acres of vineyard land held by Takashi Morita under the Alien Land Act. The state argues the farm was actually run by his Japan-born father.
• Prof. McGovney, Alien Land Law Authority, Dies, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Prof. D. O. McGovney, emeritus law professor at the University of California and leading authority on the alien land act, died in Berkeley. He had predicted the high court would declare the land law unconstitutional.
• Bodies of 600 Nisei War Dead May Not Be Returned to U.S. Until Next Year, JACL Told, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Families of about 600 Nisei soldiers buried mostly in Europe may have to wait until 1948-49 for repatriation, as the War Department handles remains area by area. Captain John Longo explained the notification and burial options available to next of kin.

Obituaries

• Pioneer Issei Found Dead in Bunkhouse, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Kurakichi Ito, 80, claimed to be the first to plant potatoes in the Delta region and was found dead in a bunkhouse near Tracy, California. Investigators found no signs of foul play, and he had lived in the Delta for 52 years.

Commentary

• Minority Week: Public Opinion, Schooldays in the Capital, Schooldays in Chicago, This Week’s Quote, These Are Your Neighbors, Noted in Passing, Library Shelf, by P.C. Staff, page 2. This roundup column covers a high school survey on prejudice, a Washington D.C. school segregation test case, and a Chicago curriculum on Negro achievements. It also features quotes, a Los Angeles radio program, and book reviews.
• The Navy’s Secret Weapon, by By Bill Hosokawa, page 4. Hosokawa recounts a plan reported by Considine to use Babe Ruth as a peace emissary to Japan between the atomic bombings and surrender. The column is a wry look at wartime and postwar news.
• Race and Housing, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial, drawing on Loren Miller’s article, argues that racially restrictive housing covenants create ghettos inconsistent with the American constitutional system. It urges the Supreme Court to declare the covenants unconstitutional.
• Evacuation Issue, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial discusses the Homer Wilcox case, in which the Supreme Court upheld the army’s right to evacuate an individual from a military area. It notes the ruling leaves the Korematsu decision on mass evacuation unchallenged.
• Canadian Rights, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial compares the status of Japanese Canadians, who remain subject to restrictions, with Japanese Americans. It cites B.K. Sandwell’s call for a Canadian Bill of Rights to secure individual liberties.
• The Lost Fishing Village, by By Larry Tajiri, page 4. Tajiri recounts a Hollywood story about a Japanese fishing colony on the Lower California coast, which may never have existed. He notes the film project never materialized.
• The Trail of Skulls, by By Larry Tajiri, page 4. Tajiri describes the 1890s expulsion of Chinese from Sonora, Mexico, and the deaths of hundreds crossing the Sonoran Desert. The column is framed as another example of racial prejudice.
• Mush, Mush, by By Larry Tajiri, page 4. Tajiri profiles Ju Wada, a Japanese dog-team handler and Klondike-era figure in Alaska. Wada’s fortunes came and went, and he died in San Diego in 1940 with five cents.
• Golfing in Interest, by By Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Hosokawa describes the revival of Nisei golf after the war, with clubs in New York and other eastern cities. He profiles top Nisei golfers and predicts a National Nisei Open may debut at a future JACL convention.
• Masaoka Sees the Bums, by By Bill Hosokawa, page 6. Hosokawa humorously describes Mike Masaoka spending a New York weekend in the bleachers at baseball games. The column portrays Masaoka as relaxing rather than always fighting causes.

JACL

• Midwest Leadership Training Workshop Held in Chicago, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The JACL Midwest District Council leadership workshop in Chicago drew 40 potential leaders for two days of discussions on membership, fund raising, programming, publicity, and community action. Mike Masaoka gave the closing address.
• Set Workshop for Eastern JACL Leaders, by P.C. Staff, page 3. An Eastern District JACL workshop will be held in New York on November 29 and 30 to address problems of East Coast chapters. Topics include public relations, community action, fund raising, and Issei-Nisei relationships.

Sports

• Yonamine, Nisei Seatback, Gets Big-Time Pro Football Taste, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Wally Yonamine played significant time for the San Francisco 49ers in a 42-28 win over the Chicago Rockets. The article also covers other Nisei players in professional and college football.
• Ichinose Sends Marino Out for Flyweight Title, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Manager Sam Ichinose said flyweight contender Dado Marino is ready to face Rinty Monaghan in London on October 20. The winner would be recognized as world champion by British and American boxing bodies.

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