Local JACL news and a push to repeal the Alien Land Law

Vol. 49, No. 25, December 18, 1959. 8 pages. View this issue

Chapter life filled this eight-page weekly. A front-page editorial by the P.C. staff, “Toying with the P-Bomb,” criticized the politics of overpopulation and birth control. The news pages reported that the JACL fund to send a Japanese Boy Scout to the 1960 Boy Scout Jamboree passed its $1,000 goal, and that the 1000 Club reached 1,376 active members. Elmer Ogawa wrote about a campaign to raise $15,000 toward repeal of the Alien Land Law on the 1960 November ballot. George Shiozawa reported that the Pocatello JACL persuaded an Idaho newspaper to stop using a slur in its headlines. Akiji Yoshimura looked at early Issei history in “The Issei Story, A Beginning.”

Other pages carried chapter installations and holiday events from San Francisco, Long Beach, Pocatello and Monterey Peninsula. Min Yasui became chairman of the Mountain-Plains district. Bill Hosokawa’s “From the Frying Pan” described his daughter’s Christmas wish for a horse, and Jean Kimura covered Chicago JACL’s 15th anniversary dinner-dance.

What’s in this issue

National

• Toying with the P-Bomb, by P.C. Staff, page 1. An editorial criticizes the politicization of overpopulation and birth control, especially Catholic-related remarks in a presidential campaign context. It warns that foreign birth-control policy could be exploited by Soviet propaganda and religious bigotry.
• Nisei Files to Block Deportation Order Issued 8 Years Ago, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Kazuo Joji, a Nisei factory worker, filed suit in federal court in Chicago to block his deportation over World War II service with the Japanese army. He claims he was drafted after his family took him to Japan in 1940.
• 16 States Have Specialized Agencies to Enforce Anti-Minority Discrimination Laws, by P.C. Staff, page 3. According to an American Jewish Congress report, a majority of Americans for the first time live in states with enforceable anti-discrimination laws. The report lists the 16 states with enforcement agencies and notes the trend of growing state legislation.

Community

• Boy Scout Fund Oversubscribed, Passes $1,000 Goal, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The JACL reports that its fund to bring a Japanese Boy Scout to the 1960 Boy Scout Jamboree exceeded its $1,000 goal. Contributors and the national JACL president expressed appreciation, with overage to go to Boy Scouts of America.
• Berkeley Nisei Geologist to Research Watershed Management in Hawaii, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Teruo Yamamoto has been appointed watershed geologist at the Pacific Southwest forest and range experiment station’s Honolulu office. He will research watershed management to improve water supplies for the new state of Hawaii.
• Nisei in Partnership Designing Furniture, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Richard Koga has partnered with Theodore Newbold in a furniture design and manufacturing venture in Philadelphia. The line has a slight Oriental flavor with Shaker influence and is priced from $160 to $700.
• Oakland to Campaign for Lakeside Japanese Gardens, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A Japanese garden is planned for Lakeside Park in Oakland, designed by Nagao Sakurai with plants from Eastbay nurseries and city labor. A campaign led by Frank Ogawa and Mas Yonemura will seek to raise $3,000.
• Pocatello JACL Alerts Headline Writer in Idaho on Use of ‘Jap’, by George Shiozawa, page 1. The Pocatello JACL persuaded the Idaho State Journal to avoid the word ‘Jap’ in headlines after a December 7 headline used it. The editor agreed the term is derogatory and said it resulted from headline space constraints.
• 1000 Club Hits New High: 1,376 Active Members, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The JACL 1000 Club reached a record 1,376 members in good standing, with new and renewal memberships boosting totals. Chapters are being asked to help sign 2,000 active members by the 1960 convention in Sacramento.
• Four Nisei Pass Calif. Bar Exams, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Four Nisei, including George Shibata, Wilbur Sato, Grant Shimizu and Wendell Marumoto, passed the California bar exam and will be admitted to practice. Shibata was the first Nisei graduate of West Point to later study law.
• New Year’s Eve Dance Set for San Francisco JACLers, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The San Francisco JACL announces its annual New Year’s Eve dance at the Empire Room of the Sir Francis Drake Hotel. Committee members are listed for tickets, posters and door duties.
• Buchanan YM-YWCA to Split After 12 Years of Joint Community Work, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Buchanan Street YM-YWCA joint operation in San Francisco will end at year’s close as the YWCA moves to the old Japanese YWCA at 1830 Sutter. Michi Onuma will serve as executive director of the new Sutter branch.
• San Francisco JACL Inaugural Feb. 12, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The San Francisco JACL will hold its 1960 inaugural dinner dance on February 12 and is conducting a mail-ballot election for 10 board seats among twelve nominees.
• Mrs. Charlotte Doi to Head S.F. Auxiliary, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The San Francisco JACL Women’s Auxiliary elected Mrs. Charlotte Doi as president for 1960 along with a new cabinet. Outgoing officers were also recognized at the Christmas gift exchange.
• Fremont JACL Schedules Christmas Party Tomorrow, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Fremont JACL holds its annual Christmas party at Hansen Hall with games, carols and entertainment. Toyoko Yonekura chairs the event.
• Sacramento Christmas Cheer Packages Campaign, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Sacramento Christmas Cheer campaign reached 84 percent of its goal at $2,123.83 with donations of canned goods, staples, toys and cash. Donors and volunteers are listed.
• Long Beach-Harbor District JACL 1960 Board Installed, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The Long Beach-Harbor District JACL installed its 1960 board of directors at a dinner at the Coast Inn. Newly elected and holdover members were listed.
• Pocatello JACL Chapter and Auxiliary Officers for 1960, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The Pocatello JACL and its auxiliary will install 1960 officers at a dinner-dance on December 28 at Hotel Bannock. Officer lineups for chapter and JACLyn are published.
• Monterey Peninsula JACL Board Group Named, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The Monterey Peninsula JACL named a board of 38 members for 1960, the largest in the JACL, with members drawn from Seaside, Pacific Grove, Monterey and others. The chapter also plans a New Year’s Eve dance.
• Talent Show Added for Philadelphia JACL Yule Party, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The Philadelphia JACL will hold its traditional Christmas potluck party with an added talent show at International Institute. Children will present skits, songs and recitations.
• Irene Takei Chosen Miss Nisei Co-ed at Berkeley, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Irene Takei of Santa Cruz was selected Miss Nisei Coed at the UC Berkeley Nisei Student Club dance. She is an education major and captain of the Cal pom-pom girls.
• Eden Township Jr. JACL Holds Election Meeting, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The Eden Township Junior JACL elected Butch Hara as president at a meeting in Mas Yoshioka’s home. Other newly elected officers were also named.
• Chicago JACL Celebrates Crystal Anniversary at Inaugural Dinner-Dance, by Jean Kimura, page 6. Chicago JACL marked its 15th anniversary at a Thanksgiving weekend dinner-dance attended by Senator Paul Douglas and Congressman Sidney Yates. Dr. Thomas Yatabe delivered a major address outlining JACL priorities.
• Arkansas Valley Sansei Win Talent Show Prizes, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Ann Fujimoto of La Jara won first place in the elementary piano division of the Colorado state music contest, and Ronald Inouye was a blue ribbon winner. Both are students in Conejos County.
• Northwest Alien Land Law Repeal Fund Drive Launched, by Elmer Ogawa, page 7. The Seattle-area Alien Land Law Committee launched a campaign to raise $15,000 to support repeal of the discriminatory law on the 1960 November ballot. Canvassing teams of Issei and Nisei will cover the area.
• Seattle JACL Elections Nominations Announced, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Seattle JACL nominating committee announced its slate of officers and board of governors for the coming year. Voting will be by mailed ballot and installation will occur at the Northwest District Council convention in Tacoma.
• Nisei Fencer and Local Nisei Student Government Pioneer Profiled, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Roger Okamoto, president of the student body at Benson High School in Portland, is profiled as a pioneer of student government with a senate, house and cabinet. He is also active in journalism and scholastics.
• Yasuo Carl Furuya Named Acting Pastor at ICU Church in Tokyo, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Dr. Yasuo Carl Furuya, who earned a Doctor of Theology from Princeton Theological Seminary, assumed duties as acting pastor of the Church of the International Christian University in Tokyo. His background and family are described.
• Mountain-Plains JACL District Elects Min Yasui as Chairman, by P.C. Staff, page 8. At the Thanksgiving weekend convention in Denver, the Mountain-Plains JACL installed new officers with Min Yasui as chairman. The district is the largest geographically in the national JACL.
• Mile-Hi JACL Announces Finalists for Harry H. Sakata Memorial Award, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The Mile-Hi JACL named five finalists for its annual Harry H. Sakata Memorial Award for outstanding 1959 Japanese American high school graduates in Denver. The winner will be announced at the Recognitions Dinner on December 31.
• Tad Masaoka Leaves Washington Post for Housing Post, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Tad Masaoka, formerly of the JACL Washington office, was appointed intergroup racial relations specialist in the San Francisco regional office of the Housing and Home Finance Agency. He takes up the post January 4.

Commentary

• From the Frying Pan, by Bill Hosokawa, page 3. Hosokawa humorously recounts his daughter Christie’s campaign for a horse for Christmas and his compromise with a wristwatch. He also reflects on how quickly the decades have passed as 1960 approaches.
• Whereabouts Sought, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Pacific Citizen seeks information on Joe Shineda, about 40, formerly of Seattle. Readers are asked to contact the paper’s Box 238.
• The Issei Story, A Beginning, by Akiji Yoshimura, page 4. National JACL First Vice President Akiji Yoshimura reflects on early Issei history through the grave of Kuni Masumizu in Colusa and a group of Japanese immigrants who arrived in California in 1869. He urges JACL chapters and youth to help compile the Issei Story.
• Comments from Japan: Supplemental Japanese Agricultural Workers Program, by John Fuji, page 8. Fuji, editor of This Week in Japan, examines complaints from returning Japanese farm youths about California farm work. He argues the problems stem partly from unrealistic expectations and urban softness, and suggests better screening of workers.

Arts & Entertainment

• Isamu Noguchi Wins Logan Art Institute Medal, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Sculptor Isamu Noguchi received the Logan Art Institute Medal and its $2,000 cash award at the 63rd American Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture in Chicago. The jury included Robert Motherwell and Alfred Frankenstein.

Military & Veterans

• Pocatello JACL Ace Morimoto Sets City Bowling Record, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Pocatello JACLer Ace Morimoto rolled a 760 scratch series in JACL league play to set a city record. The feat builds interest in the upcoming national JACL bowling tournament.

Obituaries

• Mrs. Koyuri Shibata Family to Donate Rose Garden to Proposed Hospital, by Oakland Tribune, page 7. The Shibata family of Mt. Eden will donate a $20,000 rose garden to the proposed St. Rose Hospital in memory of Zenjuro Shibata. The gift reflects appreciation for the community and local education.

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