Repealing Title II and the new JACL president’s first plans

Vol. 71, No. 12, September 18, 1970. 6 pages. View this issue

The repeal of Title II dominated the news. The House Committee on Internal Security ended its hearings on the Emergency Detention Act, and Mike Masaoka’s Washington Newsletter weighed what came next and urged JACL to press for a vote before Congress adjourned. National President Raymond S. Uno wrote about upcoming committee meetings in Salt Lake City, his belief in delegating authority, and his plans to meet chapter members. Harry K. Honda looked at electoral reform, while Fred Y. Hirasuna and Hiroshi Kanno debated how JACL should hold its own elections.

Elsewhere in the six pages: Asian workers in San Francisco filed bias charges over city health inspector hiring, and a survey questioned hiring at Fisherman’s Wharf restaurants. Plans for senior housing in Little Tokyo moved ahead, and the JACL Student Aid Committee gave grants to ten students. Reviews and columns by Allan Beekman and Joe Oyama round out the issue.

What’s in this issue

JACL

• U-NO Bar, by Raymond S. Uno, page 1. JACL National President Raymond Uno previews the upcoming executive committee and ad hoc committee meetings in Salt Lake City. He reflects on the value of delegating authority, learning through decision-making, and his plans to travel nationally to meet chapter members.
• JACL makes second presentation of student aid to young people, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The JACL Student Aid Committee awarded $2,000 in grants ranging from $150 to $250 to ten students from 37 applicants. The program will be expanded nationally and named in honor of the late Abe Hagiwara.

National

• South Africa admits black U.S. journalist, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Carl T. Rowan, Publishers-Hall Syndicate columnist, became the first Black American journalist granted a visa to South Africa to report on apartheid. He had been refused a visa in 1956 while a Minneapolis Star-Tribune reporter.
• Asian workers charge racial slur in hiring, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Five Oriental health inspectors filed charges of racial discrimination against the San Francisco Department of Public Health before the California Fair Employment Practice Commission. Panel members allegedly made derogatory remarks during oral examinations that lowered the complainants’ scores.
• Charge job bias at Fisherman’s Wharf, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A San Francisco Human Rights Commission survey found that minorities held few visible high-paying jobs at twelve major Fisherman’s Wharf restaurants leased from the Port Commission. The findings prompted scrutiny of the nondiscrimination clauses in those leases.
• Third World solidarity still a myth, Furutani tells reporter at Atlanta, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Warren Furutani attended the Congress of African People in Atlanta and told a New York Times reporter that Third World solidarity remains more myth than reality. He said groups must build trust before real coalitions can form.
• Buddhist chanting ruled ‘disturbing’, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Boston judge Elijah J. Adlow found Yuyo Kubo guilty of disturbing the peace for holding late-night Buddhist services in his apartment and fined him $100. A neighbor had recorded the chanting and played it in court.
• Nisei aquanaut Kubokawa describes NASA’s research in underwater life, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Charles C. Kubokawa, NASA’s first aquanaut, described his 30-day underwater habitat mission, including littered reef areas, a monotonous menu, and an earthquake. He spoke at a Commonwealth Club luncheon in San Francisco.
• Oriental picket surprise officials at Shell Oil office, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Twenty-five young Asian American protesters picketed a Shell Oil office in Millbrae, accusing the firm of discriminating against minorities. The protest followed Shell’s termination of a San Mateo gas station lease held by a Japanese American operator.
• New Japanese ambassador to US Ushiba arrives, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Nobuhiko Ushiba arrived in Washington as Japan’s new ambassador to the United States, predicting a new era in bilateral relations. He replaces Takeso Shimoda and was welcomed by Embassy and State Department officials.
• Fisherman Wharf restaurants accused of discriminatory hiring practices, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A Human Rights Commission survey of twelve larger Fisherman’s Wharf restaurants found minorities held a small share of visible jobs and were largely absent from high-paying positions. The commission appointed an ad hoc committee to work with the Port Commission on enforcing the nondiscrimination ordinance.

Military & Veterans

• People’s Army and American Legion: Oregon was prepared, by Don Hayashi, page 1. Portland prepared for the 52nd American Legion Convention and the counter-organized Peoples Army Jamboree, which protested the Legion’s foreign policy stance. Tensions were managed through compromises over park permits and rock festivals, and the week ended without major violence.
• War crime precedent raised in My Lai case, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Sgt. Esequiel Torres, charged in the alleged My Lai massacre, blamed Army Chief of Staff Gen. William Westmoreland and cited the trial of Japanese Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita as precedent. Japan meanwhile conferred the Order of the Rising Sun on Westmoreland.

Incarceration & Redress

• Title II hearings end, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The House Committee on Internal Security concluded hearings on repealing the Emergency Detention Act, with Justice Department witness J. Walter Yeagley testifying in favor of repeal. Committee members, including Rep. Spark Matsunaga, questioned the Act’s provisions and the Nixon Administration’s position.
• Title II repeal hearings: Washington Newsletter, by Mike Masaoka, page 2. Mike Masaoka analyzes the conclusion of House Internal Security Committee hearings on repealing Title II and the uncertain path ahead. He criticizes the Nixon Administration’s lukewarm support and urges JACL to press for a repeal vote before Congress adjourns.

Community

• Reedley JACLer saves man’s life, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Reedley JACL member Taro Asami used mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on customer Lester J. Biles, who collapsed at Asami’s Texaco station. Biles was reported in fairly good condition ten days later, and the ambulance crew praised Asami’s calm response.
• Redevelopment – senior citizen project for Little Tokyo, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Plans advanced for a 350-unit high-rise senior citizen housing project in Little Tokyo, with a non-profit corporation to be formed to sponsor and manage it. Federal low-interest loans are expected to finance the project, targeted for completion by 1973.
• Chapter pulse: Issei appreciation fete and events, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Alameda JACL plans its annual Issei appreciation dinner on October 4, and West Valley JACL will host a talk by Rev. K. Tokunaga on Buddhism in Japan. Other chapter events include a San Francisco JACL Women’s Auxiliary fashion luncheon to benefit the Issei fund.
• Wakamatsu centennial nets $3,600, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The Wakamatsu Colony centennial project netted $3,600, placed in a JACL trust account at the Sumitomo Bank of Sacramento. Project chairman James Murakami reported on receipts and disbursements at the North California-Western Nevada District Council meeting.
• Checkmate: Arrowhead, by Ron Wakabayashi, page 4. Ron Wakabayashi recounts a Labor Day weekend National Youth Coordinating Council meeting at Lake Arrowhead, highlighting the young JACL board members’ camaraderie. He describes their playful antics and the group’s farewell performance at LAX.
• Chick sexing school starts 34th season, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The American Chick Sexing School, founded by Philadelphia JACLer S. John Nitta, is enrolling students for its 34th season. The four-month course trains students to separate baby chicks by sex and graduates have reportedly earned $12,000 to $24,000 a year.

Commentary

• Editor’s Desk: Another look at electoral reform, by Harry K. Honda, page 4. The editorial weighs arguments for and against a constitutional amendment to replace the Electoral College with direct popular election of the President. It presents the case for majority vote equality alongside conservative concerns about federalism and minority influence.
• Power to the people, by Fred Y. Hirasuna, page 4. Fred Hirasuna urges the JACL to adopt direct member voting for the District Governor and to survey ordinary members on controversial policy issues. He also criticizes the National Convention’s handling of a Liberation Caucus demonstration he considers treasonable.
• JACL elections, by Hiroshi Kanno, page 4. Hiroshi Kanno argues against restructuring JACL elections on a strict one-member one-vote basis, contending that equal chapter representation protects smaller chapters and dissenting voices. He warns that narrowing the electorate would make the organization more exclusive.
• E. L.A. Community Center, by Ron Masumoto, page 4. Ron Masumoto, PSWDC chairman, promotes a fundraising dinner for the Duprees, a group of East Los Angeles Sansei organizing a community center to address drug abuse, dropouts, and crime. He urges community support through attendance and donations.
• Asian American problems, by Gilbert W. Lindsay, page 4. Los Angeles Councilman Gilbert W. Lindsay writes that he wants more coverage of Asian American problems to guide his legislative thinking. He offers to meet with the Yellow Brotherhood and hear from Asian American residents.
• Manhattan Echoes: Joe Oyama at La MaMa, by Joe Oyama, page 5. Joe Oyama reviews a performance by the Asian American Repertory Theater of Wallace Stevens’ Three Travelers Watch a Sunrise at La MaMa in New York. He describes the impressionistic staging and the play’s theme of people seeing only what they want to see.

Sports

• Bridging the generation gap, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The 36th annual Pacific Northwest Nisei Golf Association tournament in Portland brought together Nisei, Sansei, and Issei golfers from across the region. Trophy winners in each flight were recognized at the awards banquet.
• Manbo: Altman and Lopez lead Orions toward pennant, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The Lotte Orions appear poised for the Pacific League pennant, with a wide lead and American players George Altman and Arturo Lopez driving the offense. Altman, a former Chicago Cub, was also expected to write a book about Japanese baseball.

Arts & Entertainment

• Youths’ version of Nikkei heritage, by Allan Beekman, page 5. A review of The Japanese Helped America, a youth book published by Julian Messner that traces Japanese immigration from the Meiji era through the Wakamatsu Colony and wartime incarceration. The reviewer finds the account engaging but notes many factual errors.

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