Vol. 35, No. 26, December 26, 1952. 8 pages. View this issue
Citizenship for the Issei was the main subject of this eight-page issue. The front page reported on revised Form N-400 applications, new citizenship classes for Issei in San Francisco, and JACL offers to help with forms free of charge. Larry Nakatsuka wrote about attorney Saburo Kido’s month in Japan, where he found most Issei and Nisei did not yet grasp the benefits of the new law. An editorial answered S.I. Hayakawa’s criticisms of the McCarran-Walter Act, and another reported two Hawaii nationality cases appealed by the U.S. government.
Elsewhere, Larry Tajiri paid tribute to columnist Roku Sugahara, and Bill Hosokawa shared a letter about a visit to the abandoned Rohwer camp site and its neglected cemetery. The issue also set the 1954 JACL convention for Los Angeles and profiled seven candidates for Miss Nisei Co-Ed. Four of its eight pages carry holiday greetings.
What’s in this issue
National
- Issei Naturalization Process Revised; Form N-400 Now Available, page 1. The Immigration and Naturalization Service announced revised naturalization petition forms and the start of citizenship classes for Issei in San Francisco. Haruo Ishimaru of the JACL spoke on efforts to assist Issei in obtaining citizenship.
- Nationality Cases Being Appealed by U.S. Government, page 1. The U.S. attorney’s office appealed Judge J. Frank McLaughlin’s decisions in two Hawaii Nisei nationality cases involving men who served in the Japanese army. The appeal will go to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.
- Issei-Nisei Still Unaware of Advantages of New Nationality Act, by Larry Nakatsuka, page 1. Attorney Saburo Kido reported after a month in Japan that most Issei and Nisei do not yet understand the benefits of the Walter-McCarran Act. He estimated up to 7,000 Nisei strandees may be eligible to return to the U.S. to prove citizenship.
Military & Veterans
- Ben Kuroki to Relate ‘Wih Ike’ on Philadelphia Radio, page 1. Ben Kuroki, a World War II hero, is scheduled to speak on a Philadelphia radio program about the contributions of Japanese Americans. Photo shows President-elect Eisenhower with veteran Taro Suzuki at the National Cemetery of the Pacific.
JACL
- ’54 JACL Convention Date, Site Set, page 1. The 12th biennial National JACL convention will be held Sept. 2 to 6, 1954, at the Statler Hotel in Los Angeles. Selection of the hotel was unanimous after a committee tour of its facilities.
Community
- Revised Form N-400 for Issei Seeking Citizenship Arrive, page 1. New Form N-400 applications are now available at the Southern California JACL regional office following the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952. JACL will help Issei fill out forms and address report cards free of charge in January.
- Concede City-County Post to Honolulu Nisei Incumbent, page 1. Herman Lemke conceded defeat to Nisei incumbent Lawrence Goto for Honolulu city-county treasurer after a partial recount. Lemke had charged that 405 votes were unaccounted for.
- San Francisco Sets 600 as ’53 Membership Goal, page 1. San Francisco JACL chapter will have fifteen teams canvass for 600 members in 1953. The 30-day drive begins the following Monday under chairman Florence Dobashi.
- Seven Girls Vie for Miss Go-Ed Honors at Second CINO Convention, page 3. The second annual California Intercollegiate Nisei Organization convention at USC includes a full day of policy discussions, a keynote by Haruo Ishimaru, and a coronation of Miss Nisei Co-Ed of 1953. Seven candidates are profiled along with basketball tournament details.
- Idaho Falls Chapter Headed by T. Haga, page 4. Takeo Haga was elected president of the Idaho Falls JACL chapter at a December general membership meeting. The chapter’s cabinet of officers for the coming year was also announced.
- Christmas Cheer Makes 500 Happier, page 6. The Club Service Bureau distributed more than $822 in cash and merchandise to nearly 500 needy persons in Southern California. Contributions came from JACL chapters and local organizations.
Obituaries
- P.C. Columnist Roku Sugahara Dies Following Major Operation, by Larry Tajiri, page 3. Larry Tajiri pays tribute to Roku Sugahara, a longtime Pacific Citizen columnist who died after surgery, recalling his career in Los Angeles, UCLA, and New Orleans. Tajiri describes Sugahara’s writing and sense of responsibility as worthy of lasting remembrance.
Commentary
- Hayakawa Criticisms of McCarran-Walter Act Examined, page 3. The editorial responds to S.I. Hayakawa’s criticisms of the McCarran-Walter Act, arguing that clarifications in denaturalization language are not an expansion of grounds. It also defends JACL’s testimony before the President’s Commission, which supported the Act’s recognition of Asian immigration rights while opposing the National Origins Principle.
- Watsonville Barber, page 8. The editorial addresses the refusal of a Watsonville barber to serve Nisei veteran James Yoshida, praising the local newspaper’s dignified handling of the incident. It calls for education and equal treatment in public places as the essence of Americanism.
- Remembering Rohwer, by Bill Hosokawa, page 8. Bill Hosokawa shares a letter from Mac Tsuchiya describing a visit to the abandoned Rohwer camp site in Arkansas and its neglected cemetery. The column urges attention to the condition of these graves.
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