Naturalization, the 5-F ruling and a look back at 1953

Vol. 38, No. 1, January 1, 1954. 8 pages. View this issue

The year’s first issue turned on citizenship. Lawrence Nakatsuka wrote about a naturalization ceremony in Honolulu, where Rep. Walter H. Judd watched 49 residents sworn in and called racial discrimination America’s great shame. Judge Louis E. Goodman ruled that Section 315 of the 1952 Immigration Act did not apply to Issei classified 5-F during World War I, a decision JACL counsel Frank Chuman called profoundly important. Mike Masaoka listed the 15 events that most affected Nisei in 1953, and Frank Crehan reported on a campaign called Freedom of Choice that was moving to Arizona.

The back page looked ahead. Bill Hosokawa, Larry Tajiri and a staff editorial compared 1954 with the decade before, when Japanese Americans were leaving the War Relocation Authority camps. Inside are chapter news from Watsonville, Los Angeles and Chicago, a report from National Director Masao Satow, and three pages of New Year greetings.

What’s in this issue

National

• Impressive Naturalization Rituals in Hawaii Witnessed by Rep. Judd, by By Lawrence Nakatsuka, page 1. Rep. Walter H. Judd witnessed a naturalization ceremony in Honolulu where 49 residents were sworn in using four languages and dialects. Judd called racial discrimination America’s great shame while noting progress such as the Walter-McCarran Act.
• Issei 5-Fs Win Naturalization Case Before Judge Goodman, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Judge Louis E. Goodman ruled that Section 315 of the 1952 Immigration Act did not apply to Issei classified 5-F during World War I, favoring petitioner Kazuichi Tsuji. JACL counsel Frank Chuman called the decision profoundly important for thousands of Issei.
• Arizona Republic Exposes Hate Campaign in State Once Failed in California as America Plus, by Frank Crehan, page 1. Arizona has been selected as the test site for Freedom of Choice, a campaign led by Aldrich Blake that opponents call hate-mongering and a rehash of Ku Klux Klan philosophy. A group of Phoenix civic leaders has organized opposition to the movement.
• Top 15 Nisei News Events of 1953, by Mike Masaoka, page 2. Washington columnist Mike Masaoka lists the fifteen events that most vitally affected Nisei in 1953, including naturalization of the first Japanese national, Medal of Honor for Hiroshi Miyamura, and the Refugee Relief Act. The list also covers the Crown Prince visit, evacuation claims appropriations, and segregation cases before the Supreme Court.

Community

• Hawaii Bar Association Votes in First Nisei Lawyer to Head Organization, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Masaji Marumoto, a Honolulu attorney, was elected president of the Bar Association of Hawaii for 1954, becoming the first lawyer of Japanese ancestry to head the local bar. His background includes service as chairman of the territorial bar examining committee and in World War II military government.
• Seattle Christmas Tragedy: Two Nisei Shot to Death by Angered Cannery Worker, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A jealous Filipino cannery worker shot and killed two Nisei at a First Hill home on Christmas Eve morning before turning the gun on himself. The woman was identified as Elma Akiyama and the man as William Onishi.
• Watsonville Chapter Elects 1954 Cabinet, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Bob Manabe was elected president of the Watsonville JACL chapter for 1954, joined by a slate of vice presidents, secretary, treasurer, auditor and delegate. The cabinet was announced at the start of the new year.
• Hawaiian Statehood Battle Expected When Congress Reconvenes, by Lawrence Nakatsuka, page 3. Southern Democrats prepare to filibuster the Hawaiian statehood bill when Congress reconvenes Jan. 6, using the racial issue as a weapon. Supporters hope Sen. Russell Long’s vote will help the bill clear the Senate Interior Committee.
• Chicago JACL Membership Drive and Community Notes, by Smoky Sakurada, page 4. Chicago JACL plans an early start on its membership drive, and the local community holds a series of holiday events and meetings. Notes also cover the Chicago JACL credit union annual meeting and the Cosmos War Brides club elections.
• Los Angeles JACL Chapters Plan Joint Installation Affair, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The Los Angeles Coordinating Council of JACL chapters will hold its third annual joint installation on Jan. 20 at the Statler Hotel. Merijane Yokoe and Chiyo Tayama are co-chairmen for the event.
• Inglewood Community Helps Motherless Nakamura Children at Christmas, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The Inglewood Daily News and the local community donated toys, clothing and food to the family of Kobuichi Nakamura after his wife died a week before Christmas. Five boxes of gifts were delivered to the family on Christmas Eve.
• Mae Kumashiro Carlton Receives Appreciation Honors for Civic Service, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Near-blind Nisei Mae Kumashiro Carlton, an operator of a candy stand at the Los Angeles County Psychopathic Hospital, was honored in Judge William P. Houghton’s courtroom. Supervisor John Anson Ford presented her a scroll for her efforts in citizenship and racial understanding.

Commentary

• Very Truly Yours: Those 22 Prisoners of War, by Harry K. Honda, page 2. Harry Honda condemns the 22 American prisoners of war in Korea who chose communism, calling them deserters rather than victims. He argues their naive embrace of Utopia reflects the failings of communist societies they now face.
• Hate Campaign Bared in Arizona, by Frank Crehan, page 7. Arizona Republic reporter Frank Crehan documents how Aldrich Blake’s Freedom of Choice campaign failed in California and was moved to Arizona. Documentary evidence links Blake to figures such as Gerald L. K. Smith and Robert Williams.
• New Year 1954 Editorial, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The editorial welcomes 1954 by noting the progress of the past decade and the JACL’s slow, steady educational work. It highlights Judge Goodman’s 5-F ruling as a promising start to the new year.
• From the Frying Pan: Tomorrow Looks Good, Indeed, by Bill Hosokawa, page 8. Bill Hosokawa reflects on the past year and the decade since Nisei left the WRA camps, describing the accomplishments of building homes, families and businesses. He concludes that the next decade should bring even greater achievements as remaining barriers fall.
• Vagaries: Progress from 1944 to 1954, by Larry Tajiri, page 8. Larry Tajiri looks back at 1944 to contrast the wartime situation of Japanese Americans with the state of the Nisei in 1954. He credits the JACL and events like Ben Kuroki’s speech with shifting public sentiment toward the Nisei.

Obituaries

• Tsunego Sakai, Operator of First Japanese Dry Cleaning Plant, Dies, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Tsunego Sakai, who established one of the earliest greenhouses on Bainbridge Island and later operated Seattle’s first Japanese dry cleaning establishment, died Dec. 19 at age 91. He had lived at the Pacific Hotel for the last 15 years and had no known survivors.

Arts & Entertainment

• Nisei Photographer-Producer George Tahara Presents Four Hawaiian Color Films, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Four short Hawaiian-made color films produced by George Tahara were previewed in Honolulu to praise from press critics. The films cover Japanese print-making, Hawaiian feather work, a Hawaiian legend, and fresco painting with Jean Charlot.

JACL

• Satow Reports on JACL Finances, Membership and 5-F Victory, by Masao W. Satow, page 5. National Director Masao Satow reports the organization realized only half its ADC budget in 1953 and recounts volunteer efforts and membership counts. He praises the Judge Goodman 5-F decision and urges members to wear the JACL pin and learn the JACL Hymn.
• Cabinet Clinic Planned for Pacific Southwest District Council Chapters, by Tats Kushida, page 5. The Pacific Southwest District Council announced a leadership cabinet clinic for its 17 chapters to brief new officers on JACL background and meeting procedures. The clinic is scheduled for Feb. 28, 1954 at Venice and West Los Angeles chapters.

Sports

• Shimada Nominated by S.F. Paper as 1953 Outstanding Athlete, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The Nichibei Times named bowler Fuzzy Shimada its 1953 outstanding athlete of the year. Shimada sports a 190-plus average and has bowled a perfect 300 game and several 700 series.
• SportScope: All-City Selections and California Basketball Picture, by The Sou’wester, page 6. Several Nisei high school football players earned All-City and All-League honors in Los Angeles, and Nisei basketball and judo news from California is reviewed. The column also covers the Nisei baseball championship series in California.

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