Repealing Title II, and a Nisei commentary roundup

Vol. 69, No. 18, October 31, 1969. 8 pages. View this issue

Repeal of Title II, the Emergency Detention Act, ran through this eight-page issue. The Salt Lake JACL’s summer appeal won resolutions from four local organizations. Sen. Daniel Inouye placed evidence of broad support in the Congressional Record, and a Washington Post editorial and a column by Herb Robinson both urged repeal. The JACL warned it would oppose Senator Eastland’s Internal Security Act bill, S. 12, if it carried a Title II repealer, and Mike Masaoka reviewed where the Inouye and Matsunaga-Holifield bills stood.

Commentary filled much of the rest. Jerry Enomoto wrote about a Reedley fiesta float and about alienation. Bill Hosokawa asked why few Nisei reach top corporate jobs, and Bill Marutani examined FBI arrest figures. Phil Hayasaka wrote on law and order. Henry Kanegae looked at JACL membership, Roger Nikaido took up the title of Hosokawa’s book, and Dick Hallgren covered a brain wave lab in San Francisco.

What’s in this issue

Commentary

• Alienation, by Jerry Enomoto, page 1. Enomoto reflects on the Reedley Fiesta parade and then questions the Justice Department’s stance on school desegregation and national leaders’ failure to address hunger, housing, health care and education. He argues that these unanswered questions help explain why young people feel alienated.
• Seattle Times Columnist Comments on Title II, by Herb Robinson, page 1. Columnist Herb Robinson supports prompt hearings on repealing the Emergency Detention Act, arguing the law serves no purpose today. He warns that keeping it on the books lends credibility to black extremist rhetoric about concentration camps.
• Fiesta in Reedley, by Jerry Enomoto, page 1. Enomoto describes the Reedley Fiesta parade, where a Japanese community float won first prize. He recounts riding in the parade with JACL leaders.
• Repeal Campaign, by Mike Masaoka, page 2. Masaoka reviews the status of the Inouye and Matsunaga-Holifield bills to repeal Title II, noting neither has been scheduled for hearings. He explains that committees are awaiting Administration reports, and that the Attorney General appears to oppose repeal.
• Hosokawa: Frying Pan – Nisei Accomplishments, by Bill Hosokawa, page 3. Hosokawa asks why few Nisei hold top management jobs in major American corporations and considers whether discrimination or percentages explain it. He notes Nisei were excluded as participants from a US-Japan conference, serving only as interpreters.
• That Was No Wad of Bubble Gum Puffing My Cheek, by Stirling Sakamoto, page 4. Sakamoto describes a severe toothache and his visit to his dentist. The column is written in a lighthearted personal style.
• FBI Crime Statistics Show Up Japanese ‘Only Second Best’, by Bill Marutani, page 4. Marutani analyzes FBI arrest statistics by race and finds Japanese and Chinese Americans have far lower arrest rates than Whites and Blacks in most categories. He argues the figures challenge stereotypes about Orientals and crime.
• Letters from Our Readers: Hospital Volunteers, by David Katayama, page 4. A reader describes volunteering at Sonoma State Hospital, where staff shortages leave retarded patients in need of human contact. He encourages others to volunteer to learn about human love and understanding.
• Book Title Fetish, by Roger Nikaido, page 5. Nikaido comments on the controversy over the title of Bill Hosokawa’s book, Nisei: The Quiet Americans. He argues that the critics’ call to change the title is inconsistent with the JACL’s own opposition to the word Jap.
• Law and Order, by Phil Hayasaka, page 5. Hayasaka examines how law and order is understood differently by minorities and the majority, citing the wartime incarceration of Japanese Americans. He argues that equal justice must underlie any meaningful law and order.
• Human Rights Commentary, by Phil Hayasaka, page 5. Hayasaka examines how law and order is perceived differently by majorities and minorities. He argues equal justice must be the foundation of any law enforcement.
• Rights in Conflict, by Dick Hallgren, page 5. A Walker report on the 1968 Chicago Democratic convention riots found police behavior excessive and undisciplined. The report frames the clashes as part of a larger conflict between dissent rights and public order.
• Washoi-Washoi, by Hideo Magara, page 6. Magara explains the Japanese expression washoi-washoi as a cheer meaning hooray. He discusses its usage and origins in a short column.
• Hooray for Hebrew, page 6. A column on Japanese cultural and linguistic curiosities addresses a claim that Hebrew roots relate to Japanese words. The piece is written in a light, commentary style.

Community

• Salt Lake JACL Efforts Pay Off in Repeal Push, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Four Salt Lake organizations have passed resolutions supporting repeal of Title II following a summer appeal by the Salt Lake JACL. Local groups also wrote to Utah congressmen urging support for the repeal bills.
• Drive-In Fire May Be Retaliation, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Fire bombs were thrown into the Big Dipper drive-in restaurant in Stockton, causing about $250 in damage. Police believe the attack may have been retaliation after co-owner Ben Tanaka objected to illegal gambling at the rear of the restaurant.
• Hayakawa Target of N.Y. Protest at Family of Man Awards, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Protesters demonstrated outside the New York Hilton against the Family of Man Awards presented by the New York City Council of Churches. The protest was directed at the event and at the honorees attending the dinner.
• Chinatown Gets $325,000 for Employment School, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The U.S. Labor Department approved $325,000 for a Concentrated Employment program in San Francisco’s Chinatown. The program will provide on-the-job training and English classes to help immigrants find work outside the crowded district.
• Hard Core Group Meets Weekly, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Asian American Hard Core was formally organized in Los Angeles to combat drug abuse in the Oriental community. It meets weekly at the Southern California JACL office to plan outreach and a possible halfway house.

National

• Sen. Inouye to Oppose Haynsworth for Bench, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Sen. Daniel Inouye reversed his earlier position and will vote against confirming Judge Clement Haynsworth to the Supreme Court. He cited a pattern of insensitivity to conflict-of-interest problems raised by Haynsworth’s business ventures.
• Immigration Trend in Hawaii May See Haole Majority, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Hawaii may have a haole majority within five to seven years if current trends continue, according to Theodore Ruhig of the Hawaii Manpower Commission. Immigration of professionals and skilled workers, particularly from the Philippines, is changing the islands’ ethnic mix.
• Thousands Jailed in Anti-U.S. Riots, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Thousands were jailed in anti-U.S. demonstrations in Japan, which were described as the start of a campaign against the government’s policies. The reports also note that the protests affected a planned Japanese official visit to Washington.
• Exempt List of Food Additives Under Study, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Sen. George McGovern recommended overhauling government practices that allow over 680 food additives to be sold without safety testing. The list includes MSG, and Ajinomoto’s president said average daily human intake is 2 grams.
• Univ. of Hawaii Students Remove Patsy Mink as Moratorium Keynoter, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Rep. Patsy Mink canceled her return to Hawaii after university students removed her as keynote speaker for the Vietnam Moratorium Day program. She said she would not serve as a ploy for radical confrontation and urged constructive dialogue.
• Washington Post Calls for Title II Repeal; Wide Support Acknowledged, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Sen. Daniel Inouye entered into the Congressional Record evidence of widespread support for repealing Title II, including local governments and civil rights groups. He also cited a Washington Post editorial calling the detention-center law an evil legacy that should be repealed.
• Nisei May Have Impersonated Vietnamese Spy, by P.C. Staff, page 3. New reports say a Japanese American soldier attached to the Green Berets impersonated Vietnamese interpreter Thai Khac Chuyen in Saigon after Chuyen was allegedly killed. The account emerged in New York Times and Newsweek reports tied to the Green Beret case.
• Brazilian Nisei Likely for Key Cabinet Post, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Ryoji Fabio Yasuda was expected to be sworn in as Brazil’s minister of agriculture. The 47-year-old Nisei is commissioner general for Brazil’s pavilion at the 1970 Osaka exposition and a food distributor.

JACL

• JACL Will Oppose Eastland Bill Likely to Include Title II Repealer, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The JACL warned that Senator Eastland may attach repeal of Title II to his broader Internal Security Act bill, S. 12. The JACL said it will oppose S. 12 in its entirety if that happens and will continue pushing for separate repeal bills.
• Crisis in Membership, by Henry Kanegae, page 4. National JACL membership reached an all-time high but fell short of its 10 percent growth goal, with only a modest gain over 1968. Kanegae calls for chapters to revive membership efforts and resolve internal differences.

Incarceration & Redress

• Nisei Takes Press Libel Suit to U.S. Supreme Court, Loses, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to review a Hawaii decision rejecting Maui Rep. Thomas Tagawa’s $100,000 libel suit against the Maui News. The Court upheld press freedom to publish derogatory but untrue statements about public officials absent actual malice.
• Seattle Police Answer to Charge of Inadequate Issei Protection, by Eira Nagaoka, page 6. Seattle JACL members pressed police officials at a September meeting over inadequate protection for elderly Issei in the Central Area. Police said patrols and plainclothes units had been increased in response to reported assaults and robberies.

Military & Veterans

• Scales Mt. McKinley, Over 20,000 Ft., by P.C. Staff, page 7. Denver schoolteacher Art Agatsuma, 21, scaled Alaska’s Mt. McKinley last summer after climbing some 20 peaks in Colorado. He teaches mountaineering and survival skills at the Outward Bound School in Lake City.
• Nisei Veterans Fight for Recognition, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Veterans announced plans related to their service records and recognition. The report discusses veterans’ concerns in the late 1960s.

In-Depth

• Brain Wave Project, by Dick Hallgren, page 8. Dr. Joe Kamiya’s laboratory at UC San Francisco trains volunteers to control their alpha brain waves through EEG feedback. Kamiya predicts much more will be learned about consciousness within five years.

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