Chinatown youth-police report and a yen deposit bill for former internees

Vol. 75, No. 13, September 29, 1972. 4 pages. View this issue

A report on youth-police problems in Los Angeles Chinatown led this four-page issue. The Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations cited alleged rights violations and intimidation of Chinese youths. The Senate passed Rep. Spark Matsunaga’s bill allowing Japanese Americans held in the World War II incarceration (often called internment) to recover bank deposits seized from Yokohama Specie Bank branches. Harry K. Honda covered the JACL National Executive Committee, which faced a projected $32,000 deficit, and the Bay Area Community JACL voted 83 to 18 to stay within the national organization.

On the editorial pages, Ross Harano wrote about full employment and about busing, and John M. Kanda looked back on the national convention in Washington, D.C. Page 3 carries a revived Orange County film program, a bilingual first-grade class in Watsonville and a Chicago artist painting water towers. Clifford Uyeda, M.D. reviewed a reprint of Joseph Heco’s narrative.

What’s in this issue

Community

• L.A. Chinatown Youth-Police Problems Noted by County Commission, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations issued a report on youth-police conflicts in Chinatown following the LAPD deployment of a Task Force in July. The report cites alleged rights violations and intimidation of Chinese youths, and calls for preserving civil rights and eliminating racist law enforcement action.
• EXECOM Optimistic JACL Will Forge Ahead in ’73-74, by Harry K. Honda, page 1. The JACL National Executive Committee met in San Francisco to implement mandates from the past national convention, addressing a projected $32,000 deficit in a nearly $360,000 budget. Committee actions included opposition to Proposition 21, support for the Asian American Studies Central curriculum proposal, and planning for a Washington representative selection.
• Bay Area Community JACL Votes 4-1 to Remain Within National Framework, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Bay Area Community JACL chapter voted 83 to 18 to remain within the National JACL organization after a membership poll. The chapter’s leaders cited the membership’s confidence in its programs and activities.
• Gardena Valley JACL Helps Hagiwara Fund, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Gardena Valley JACL board voted to contribute $700 to the Abe Hagiwara Memorial Scholarship Fund, which provides national JACL student aid grants. The national fund goal is $25,000, with $4,890 contributed as of the 1972 convention.
• Lod Airport Terrorist Interviewed, by Jane Evinger, page 1. A University of Hawaii sociologist, Dr. Patricia Steinhoff, interviewed imprisoned Lod Airport massacre survivor Kozo Okamoto in Israel. She described Okamoto’s revolutionary worldview and his family background in Japan.
• Teenaged Slayer Put into CYA Custody, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Tommy Hui Lo, 17, who confessed to fatally shooting entertainer Tony Fung in Chinatown in July, was committed to the California Youth Authority by Juvenile Judge Newell Barrett. He will remain in custody at least until age 21.
• S.F. Chinatown Seeks Housing Assistance, by P.C. Staff, page 1. About 150 Chinatown residents marched on the San Francisco regional HUD office demanding $11.3 million for Chinatown housing. HUD Director James Price expressed sympathy but said his office had only a fraction of the funds available for citywide projects.
• Orange County Japanese Film Program Revived, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Orange County JACL’s Japanese film program, started years earlier, declined before a new theater site, better pictures, and monthly scheduling revived attendance under George Takeyasu. The program’s success has boosted the local JACL treasury.
• Bilingual Instruction to 1st Grade Made in Spanish-English at New School, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Jeanne Hori, the only Japanese American teacher at Radcliff Bilingual School in Watsonville, teaches first grade in English and Spanish at the school established by Pajaro Valley Unified School District. The school enrolls Mexican American, Anglo, and other students voluntarily.
• Brundage Asian Art Due at Japan Center, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Construction began at San Francisco’s Japan Center on a gallery that will exhibit works from the Avery Brundage Collection, with emphasis on Japanese works. The first show is planned for early November.
• Water Tower Artist, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Chicago artist Sachio Yamashita is painting 15 more of the city’s water towers as part of a master plan to beautify 1,000 of them. His project began last November with two towers on Piper’s Alley.

Military & Veterans

• Matsunaga Appeals to Heads of States on Behalf of Prisoners of War, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Rep. Spark Matsunaga sent personal letters to 131 heads of state urging compliance with the Geneva Convention’s provisions regarding prisoners of war. He argued that all parties to the conflict should abide by the convention’s humanitarian standards.

National

• Matsunaga Yen Deposit Bill Permits Internees to Recover Deposits Seized by Government, by P.C. Washington Bureau, page 1. The Senate passed and sent to the White House a bill by Rep. Spark Matsunaga allowing Japanese Americans interned during WWII to recover bank deposits seized from Yokohama Specie Bank branches. Testimony indicated up to 2,000 claimants could recover a total of $4.5 million.

Commentary

• Newcomer’s Concepts, by P.C. Staff, page 2. An editorial examines the Hawaii political campaign of Patsy Mink and her opponents, arguing that newcomers to Hawaii bring mainland notions of patriotism that conflict with local identity. The writer contends that such views will be reflected at the ballot box.
• Full Employment: Is It the Solution?, by Ross Harano, page 2. The column questions whether guaranteeing jobs for everyone would solve economic problems, examining government make-work programs and the displacement of private sector workers. The author concludes that no foolproof system exists and that any claimed solution is suspect.
• On Busing, by Ross Harano, page 2. The Midwest District Governor argues that busing has been a court-ordered tool for desegregating deliberately segregated schools, not for achieving racial balance. He criticizes the House-passed Equal Educational Opportunities Act as recreating the separate-but-equal doctrine.
• Federal Grants, by Aiko Yasuda, page 2. A letter to the editor welcomes HEW grants to Asian organizations such as Kimochi but questions whether the timing near national conventions in an election year is politically motivated.

JACL

• National JACL Convention To Be Long Remembered, by John M. Kanda, page 2. A Puyallup Valley JACL member reflects on the national convention in Washington, D.C., noting the departure of Mike Masaoka and Mas Satow from leadership roles. He highlights the embassy receptions, the Arlington tribute, and the chapter’s award recognition.

In-Depth

• Joseph Heco: The Narrative of a Japanese, by Clifford Uyeda, M.D., page 4. A review of the reprint of Joseph Heco’s narrative, the first Japanese to receive American citizenship in 1858, who served as interpreter to the U.S. Consulate in Japan. The reviewer praises the work as an impressive record of the Issei pioneer experience.

Arts & Entertainment

• Saks Fifth Ave. Sells Clothes by Noriko, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Chicago designer Noriko Nishi, originally from Japan, has her jersey designs sold exclusively at Saks Fifth Avenue stores nationwide at prices from about $180 to $400. Her clothes are designed for slender figures in sizes 1 to 12.

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