Watergate, the Nixon tapes and a JACL building fund

Vol. 77, No. 18, November 2, 1973. 6 pages. View this issue

Watergate filled the front page of this six-page issue. An editorial questioned why President Nixon fired Archibald Cox, urged the House to begin impeachment investigations and called for a new independent Special Prosecutor. Senator Daniel Inouye was reported as the first Senate Watergate committee member to urge Nixon to resign. Alongside it, a $250,000 JACL Building Fund Drive was launched at a San Francisco kickoff dinner.

Elsewhere, Harry K. Honda wrote about Judge William Denman’s 1949 ruling on the wartime treatment of Japanese Americans at Tule Lake. Bill Hosokawa looked at Japanese tourists and investment in Hawaii. Other stories covered drug use among Sacramento Asian youth, redevelopment in San Francisco’s Nihonmachi, a Cincinnati JACL local history project and Leo Esaki’s Nobel Prize in Physics. Reader letters and a poem by Mas F. Shono appeared as well.

What’s in this issue

National

• Watergate Investigation, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The editorial questions the motives behind President Nixon’s firing of Archibald Cox and his sudden reversal on releasing the tapes. It urges the House to begin impeachment investigations and calls for reestablishing an independent Special Prosecutor answerable to a court of law.
• Seattle Board of Ethics Clears Councilman Tuai, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Seattle’s Board of Ethics unanimously found City Councilman Bruce Tuai innocent of ethics breaches over a $5,000 legal fee from Sato. The board found the Post-Intelligencer article contained several errors.
• U.S. Civil Rights Commission Ends Navajo Reservation Hearing, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The U.S. Civil Rights Commission concluded three days of hearings on the Navajo Reservation and will consider recommending that Indian reservations receive the same revenue-sharing status as states and counties. Hearings documented undue delay in BIA approvals and inadequate health care.
• Sen. Inouye Calls for Nixon to Resign, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Senator Daniel Inouye became the first Senate Watergate committee member to urge President Nixon to resign, speaking at the AFL-CIO convention. The AFL-CIO delegates passed a resolution calling for Nixon’s resignation or impeachment.
• Nobel Prize for Physics Shared by Leo Esaki, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Japanese-born physicist Leo Esaki shared the 1973 Nobel Prize for Physics for his work on electron tunneling in semiconductors. He was the fourth Japanese to receive the Nobel Prize.

Community

• JACL Building Fund Drive Launched with $250,000 Goal, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A $250,000 JACL Building Fund Drive was launched at a kickoff dinner in San Francisco attended by an overwhelming response. National Honorary Co-Chairmen include Senator Daniel K. Inouye, John Aiso, James Michener, and Edwin Reischauer.
• Student Aid Deadline Extended to Nov. 30, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The deadline for JACL-Abe Hagiwara Scholarship applications was moved from Oct. 31 to Nov. 30 due to a late start and increased requests for forms. The program aids needy students of Japanese ancestry.
• Drug Abuse Rising Among Sacramento Asian Youth, by Sacramento Union (reprinted), page 1. A Sacramento Union special report finds drug use rising among Asian youth, with insiders estimating up to 30 percent of Sacramento Asian youth use drugs regularly. Officials cite Americanization and the lack of drug programs suited to Asian needs.
• Cincinnati JACL Plans Local History Project, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Cincinnati JACL committee is compiling documentary materials on the lives of Japanese Americans in the Greater Cincinnati area. The project seeks photographs and family records from community members.
• Deadlines Set as CCDC Chapters Gear for Confab, by Thomas Toyama, page 3. Several deadlines face chapters preparing for the Central California JACL District Council convention in Fresno, including registration, talent show entries, and award nominations. The convention is scheduled at the Sheraton Inn Nov. 23-24.
• Four Projects Under Construction in San Francisco Nihonmachi, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Four redevelopment projects are underway in the Nihonmachi area of San Francisco, with four more scheduled to start by December. Area coordinator Richard Kono noted reduced staff will limit his time on the project.
• Greater Los Angeles JACL Holiday Issue Project, by P.C. Staff, page 6. JACL chapters are invited to participate in the Holiday Issue Project, offering greetings in the Pacific Citizen in lieu of holiday cards, with proceeds going to JACL programs. The deadline for submissions is December 10.

Commentary

• Judge Denman’s Decision, by Harry K. Honda, page 2. Harry Honda discusses the 1949 Ninth Circuit ruling by Judge William Denman condemning the government’s wartime treatment of Japanese Americans at Tule Lake. Denman described the evacuation as racial deportation and rejected General DeWitt’s racist doctrine.
• Some Kind Words, by P.C. Reader, page 2. A reader praises cartoonist Pete Hironaka’s depiction of the 442nd veterans commenting on Dan Inouye and the Washington furor. The letter writer compliments the cartoon’s accuracy.
• Choice of San Francisco for JACL Convention Questioned, by P.C. Reader, page 2. A letter writer raises concerns about the choice of San Francisco for the JACL convention and the high cost of convention materials. The writer suggests reconsidering convention format and costs.
• Hawaii Today: The Japanese Influx, by Bill Hosokawa, page 3. Hosokawa observes the visible presence of Japanese tourists in Honolulu and growing local concern over Japanese investment in Hawaiian real estate. He notes Japanese public relations efforts have been poor.
• Guest Column on Teaching About Japan, by P.C. Reader, page 4. A guest writer recounts a college instructor’s negative remarks about Japan and Japanese people in an Asian studies course. The writer questions whether such comments belong in a class on Asian culture.
• Plain Song: Fujinkai’s Last Cascading Dance, by Mas F. Shono, page 5. A poem reflecting on the speaker’s life journey, comparing it to a river cascading through falls and eventually reaching the Pacific. It meditates on aging and the passage of time.

Military & Veterans

• Army Pfc. Bryan T. Mukai Added to Vietnam War Dead List, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The Pacific Citizen adds Army Pfc. Bryan T. Mukai of Spokane, killed in action in April 1968, to the list of Japanese American war dead from the Vietnam War.

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