Vol. 40, No. 17, April 29, 1955. 8 pages. View this issue
Larry Tajiri’s front-page story looked at Carl Sadakichi Hartmann, a German-Japanese American writer who had lived in the United States for 62 years and still faced suspicion from “spy-hunters” after Pearl Harbor. Also on page one, Congress approved about $1.3 million for evacuation claims, with Mike Masaoka explaining who would be paid. Washington Governor Arthur Langlie spoke to newly naturalized Issei citizens at a Seattle JACL installation, and the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that federal courts may review deportation orders.
Inside are Mike Masaoka’s challenge to a college textbook’s claims about Nisei loyalty, and JACL’s support for Benjamin Tashiro as a circuit judge in Hawaii. Chapter news covered Seabrook, Cortez and Salt Lake. Columns came from Bill Hosokawa, Mary Oyama, Tats Kushida and Harry Honda, and the sports page announced a bowling tournament deadline.
What’s in this issue
Incarceration & Redress
- Spy-Hunters vs. Sadakichi Hartmann, by Larry Tajiri, page 1. Carl Sadakichi Hartmann, a long-resident German-Japanese American writer, faced suspicion and local gossip after Pearl Harbor despite his decades of loyalty to the United States. His biographer Gene Fowler convinced a military intelligence agent that Hartmann was harmless, but the writer’s final years and unpublished autobiography became the subject of later legal conflict.
National
- New Issei citizens feted at Seattle JACL installation, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Washington Governor Arthur Langlie urged newly naturalized Issei citizens at a Seattle testimonial dinner to keep valued customs of Japan while embracing American life. The Seattle JACL also installed new chapter officers at the event.
- Deportation orders may be reviewed by courts, Supreme Court decides, page 1. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that deportation orders can be reviewed by federal courts without the alien first being taken into custody. The decision, based on the 1952 Immigration Act and Administrative Procedure Act, was hailed as broadening judicial review for Japanese aliens.
- JACL invited to UN conference on world migration, page 2. The Japanese American Citizens League was invited to attend the fifth conference of Non-Governmental Organizations Interested in Migration at United Nations headquarters in New York. JACL is the only national organization representing any Asian people invited to participate.
- Nisei loyalty on basis of lies and half-truths challenged in college textbook, by Mike Masaoka, page 2. JACL’s Washington representative wrote to a New York publisher objecting to wartime misinformation about Japanese American disloyalty in the 1948 textbook Modern World Politics. He asked whether the book remains in use and offered to supply documented facts.
- JACL supports nomination of Tashiro to be judge in Hawaii, page 3. The JACL urged Senate confirmation of Benjamin Tashiro as federal circuit judge for Hawaii, citing his record as citizen, attorney and magistrate. The organization noted he would be the first person of Japanese ancestry confirmed for such a federal post.
- Georgia marriage laws prohibit interracial residence in some cases, by Mike Masaoka, page 7. JACL’s Washington office obtained a response from Georgia’s assistant attorney general confirming state laws bar white persons from marrying non-white persons and limit residence of such couples. The article also reports a related Mississippi Supreme Court ruling upholding a ban on white-Asian marriages.
- Washington Newsletter: Trade tariff battle, page 8. The Senate debated HR 1, a three-year extension of the Reciprocal Trade Agreements program that the President strongly supports. The article explains the program’s origins, regional protectionist pressures, and the Commission on Foreign Economic Policy’s recommendation.
Military & Veterans
- Supplemental appropriation awarding payment to 45 larger evacuation claimants ready for Ike’s signature, page 1. Congress approved about $1.3 million in appropriations for payment of evacuation claims, awaiting President Eisenhower’s signature. JACL’s Washington representative Mike Masaoka detailed the five groups of claimants who will receive the funds.
Community
- Study Japanese festival for S.F. Golden Gate Park, page 1. The Northern California Japanese Chamber of Commerce is studying an annual Japanese festival at the Golden Gate Park Tea Garden as part of plans to develop it into a more typical Japanese cultural site. The idea is tied to broader tea garden development plans.
- Nisei-drawn cartoon like ‘Dennis’ big hit in Tokyo press, page 2. Watsonville Nisei Jack Shigeru Matsuoka, studying in Tokyo, created the popular cartoon Taro, the Terror, a Japanese counterpart to Dennis the Menace. His sketches have appeared in several Japanese publications.
- Chicago Corner: Southside redevelopment, by Smoky Sakurada, page 4. A Southside Chicago community meeting co-sponsored by JACL and local churches addressed block group organization, discrimination, and housing problems tied to Hyde Park redevelopment. Speakers stressed legislative action and community cooperation.
- Former New Jersey judge made honorary member of Seabrook JACL at installation, by Mario Nagao, page 4. Henry Furushima was installed as president of the Seabrook JACL chapter at a dinner attended by state officials. Former judge David L. Horuvitz was named an honorary chapter member for his tolerance work and naturalization assistance.
- Organizations join Salt Lake JACL project to donate cherry trees, page 4. Several Utah Japanese American organizations supported a project to donate cherry trees to the State of Utah, with dedication set for May 8 on the Capitol grounds. The trees are a gift from Utahns of Japanese ancestry.
- Cortez CL honors new Issei citizens, page 4. The Cortez JACL honored Issei residents who recently became citizens at a dinner in Ballico, recognizing teachers who helped with citizenship classes. Each new citizen received a certificate of recognition from the chapter.
- Shig Wakamatsu honored as PR man of the month by Lever Brothers, page 4. Chicago JACL leader Shig Wakamatsu received Lever Brothers’ Public Relations Man of the Month award for his JACL activities. The recognition highlights both his civic work and the company’s support for JACL leadership.
- Operation Ono: San Luis Valley farmers aid Japanese American family, page 5. Thirty-one farmers in the San Luis Valley of Colorado mobilized to plant the fields of the Ono family after the father suffered a heart attack and a son was badly burned. The volunteers completed plowing and planting over several days.
- Back home from Japan, by Haruo Ishimaru, page 5. Haruo Ishimaru recounts serving as tour conductor on a three-week Aki Travel Bureau trip to Japan and previews the upcoming NC-WNDC District Council meeting and bowling tournament. He promises future installments about the Cherry Blossom Tour.
- Dateline Northwest, by Budd Fukei, page 5. Budd Fukei comments on a Seattle building purchase by Japanese American businessmen and offers miscellaneous notes on community members. The column touches on local JACL activities and Nisei life in the Northwest.
- Fancy meeting you here, by Mary Oyama, page 5. Mary Oyama describes a visit to Honolulu, including dinner with Kats Miho and Lawrence Nakatsuka and his wife, and comments on island dress and weather. The column offers lighthearted impressions of Hawaii and its people.
- Los Angeles Newsletter: Riding the stamp collecting hobby, by Henry Mori, page 7. Henry Mori reflects on decades of stamp collecting, from the Roosevelt-era commemorative boom to the Farley imperforates controversy. He also names fellow Nisei and JACL collectors who have helped build his collection.
Commentary
- Peruvian Nisei pen-pals, by Bill Hosokawa, page 2. Bill Hosokawa relays a request from globe-trotting filmmaker Toge Fujihira on behalf of a group of Peruvian Nisei high school girls seeking pen-pal correspondence with American Nisei and Sansei. The girls attend a Methodist girls school in Lima and all speak English.
- The Sow Wester, by Tats Kushida, page 6. Tats Kushida reflects on the shift from solicited donations to membership-based funding for JACL and ADC, urging continued membership recruitment. The column also includes notes on chapter visits and a review of Home Again by James Edmiston.
- Is there a war party?, by Harry Honda, page 8. Harry Honda argues that labeling opponents of confrontation with China or of atomic testing as members of a “war party” is unfair. He contends that the perceived dangers of atomic testing are overstated and that honest disagreement about peace policy should be respected.
- Quemoy quandary, by Harry Honda, page 8. Harry Honda weighs the strategic arguments for and against defending the Quemoy and Matsu islands against Chinese Communist pressure. He concludes that concessions to communism only invite further demands.
Arts & Entertainment
- Honolulu Newsletter: Full-term Nisei circuit judge, by Larry Nakatsuka, page 3. President Eisenhower nominated Benjamin Masaru Tashiro for a full-term circuit judgeship on Kauai, which would make him the first Nisei in Hawaii so honored. The article profiles his education, military intelligence service, and legal career.
Sports
- NC-WNDC handicap bowling tourney deadline May 1, page 6. Entry forms are due by May 1 for the second annual NC-WNDC handicap bowling tournament at Pacific Bowl in Oakland. The article details entry fees and eligibility requirements.
- Sportscope, page 6. Roundup of sports news including Katsuichi Mori’s collegiate diving debut at Stanford, Japan’s table tennis team championship win, and Heiji Shimabukuro’s Inter-Service boxing title. Also notes judo’s potential Olympic inclusion.
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