Civil rights questions for candidates, and a Hawaii primary

Vol. 51, No. 16, October 14, 1960. 8 pages. View this issue

Civil rights ran through the front page of this eight-page issue. The Supreme Court agreed to review whether a private restaurant in a publicly owned building may refuse service to Negroes, and JACL said it would put questions on equal protection, school desegregation, voting and employment discrimination to every congressional candidate. Page 2 printed the full quiz. Mike Masaoka’s Washington Newsletter urged voters to weigh congressional races as well as the presidential contest. In Hawaii, 32 of 38 Americans of Japanese ancestry advanced in the October 1 primary.

Elsewhere, Charlotte Widrig described three generations of the Okitsu family growing lettuce near Renton, Washington. Larry S. Tajiri reported that James Shigeta was cast in MGM’s Bridge to the Sun. Saburo Kido was named speaker for a San Francisco Issei recognition dinner, and Honolulu accepted a sister-city tie with Bruyeres, France. Richard Akagi, Fred Takata and Elmer Ogawa wrote columns.

What’s in this issue

Commentary

• Looking at this Retirement Problem, by H.H., page 1. The column argues that Nisei approaching age 65 need to prepare now for retirement, as fixed incomes are eroded by inflation and the dollar’s declining buying power. It questions whether public deficit spending should be reduced to protect future retirees.
• Quiz on Civil Rights Issues, page 2. The JACL published the full text of questions asked of every congressional candidate on equal protection, school desegregation, voting rights, employment discrimination, and Senate and House rules. Each question asks whether the candidate will support specific legislation or procedural change.
• Let’s Repeal Alien Land Law, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Seattle Times editorial urges Washington voters to repeal the state’s anti-alien land law, which in practice excludes Orientals from owning property. It notes the law is unenforced and inconsistent with amendments allowing foreign corporations to own land.
• Washington Newsletter: Congressional Candidates, by Mike Masaoka, page 8. Masaoka urges voters to weigh congressional candidates as well as presidential contenders, noting JACL’s long practice of publishing candidate information. He identifies incumbents in key states who have been especially cooperative on Japanese American concerns.

National

• 32 of 38 AJAs Succeed in Hawaii Primary, page 1. Thirty-two of 38 Americans of Japanese ancestry advanced in Hawaii’s October 1 primary, including four re-elected outright. Twenty-eight were successful in their bids for spots on the November 8 ballot.
• Major Civil Rights Case Added for Review by High Tribunal, page 1. The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to study whether a privately operated restaurant leasing space in a publicly owned building may refuse service to Negroes. The case could help clarify the line between state action covered by the Fourteenth Amendment and purely private discrimination.
• Congressional Candidates to Be Queried on Civil Rights by JACL, page 1. JACL and other members of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights will ask every congressional candidate for individual positions on civil rights issues. Questions cover equal protection, school desegregation, voting, employment discrimination, and Senate and House procedural rules.
• Honolulu Accepts Bid for Tie with Bruyeres, page 1. Honolulu Mayor Blaisdell accepted an offer to make Honolulu and Bruyeres, France, sister cities. The offer was made through former 442nd sergeant Wilbert S. Holck, and JACL maintains a memorial plaque honoring the liberation of Bruyeres.

Community

• Saburo Kido to Speak at San Francisco Fete, page 1. Saburo Kido of Los Angeles will be the main speaker at the San Francisco JACL Issei Recognition dinner on October 22 at the Four Seas Restaurant. Issei who arrived before 1924 will be guests of the chapter.
• Ex-Reedley Nisei Heading Landscape Design School at Harvard Works on Projects, page 1. Sasaki, Walker and Associates, led by Reedley-born Hideo Sasaki, was retained to lay out a municipal plaza in Hartford and to landscape the Golden Gateway Redevelopment Project in San Francisco. Sasaki is a full professor and head of landscape architecture at Harvard Graduate School of Design.
• Nisei on Faculty of Pennsylvania College, page 2. A Nisei dance instructor was appointed to the Women’s Physical Education Department at a Pennsylvania college after earning her degree in the Science of Dance from the University of Wisconsin. She had previously taught dance and drama classes at YWCA schools in Madison.
• Greeting from West Los Angeles JACL Chairman, by Mrs. Harold Harada, page 2. The West Los Angeles JACL chairman thanked donors and participants for their support of the Westwood Center benefit. She noted the event helped promote goodwill and international understanding.
• The Okitsu Family: Three Generations Harvest Lettuce, by Charlotte Widrig, page 3. The Okitsu family of Renton, Washington, has grown lettuce on a 12-acre lake-bottom farm since 1914, now worked by three generations. The article, reprinted from the Seattle Times Sunday Magazine, explores the decline of small family farms and the family’s work.
• Pointing Southwestward, by Fred Takata, page 4. Takata reports on a busy week of Los Angeles JACL social events, including the WLA dinner, Women’s Auxiliary dance, TOT Ball, and East Los Angeles chapter fishing derby. He also reports on the success of a second polio clinic, which vaccinated 742 people.
• Berkeley’s Fall Festival, by Tad Hirota, page 4. The Berkeley JACL and Wesley Foundation will host an Aki-no-Matsuri fall festival on November 11 and 12 to mark the 100th anniversary of U.S.-Japan diplomatic relations. A student work project to Japan in 1961 is also planned with Kwansei Gakuin University.
• Bast of the River, by Richard Akagi, page 6. Akagi reflects on the Issei Story project, arguing that Nisei-solicited oral histories risk being romanticized or incomplete. He draws a comparison to James Michener’s observations on artistic convention and invites readers to the JACL installation dinner with Michener as speaker.
• Northwest Picture: Not Enough Rain for Matsutake, by Elmer Ogawa, page 7. Dry weather has limited the matsutake mushroom harvest in the Pacific Northwest this year. Seattle hunter Yoshito Fujii took Washington matsutake to Japan to share with a Kyoto botanist studying the Northwest variety.

Arts & Entertainment

• Nisei Designed Stamp Scores Hit, by Tamotsu Murayama, page 2. Gyo Fujikawa’s designs for the U.S.-Japan Centennial stamps were displayed at the American Stamp Show held at Matsuya Department Store in Tokyo. The exhibit drew large crowds and was considered a success for the U.S. Embassy.
• Bridge to the Sun Ready, by Larry S. Tajiri, page 3. James Shigeta has been cast as Hidenari Terasaki in MGM’s Bridge to the Sun, the true story of a Japanese diplomat and his American wife. Production is expected to begin before year’s end, with some scenes shot in Japan and others in Hollywood.

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