Vol. 44, No. 4, January 25, 1957. 8 pages. View this issue
Statehood led the news in the January 25, 1957 issue. President Eisenhower urged Congress to admit Alaska and again called for unqualified statehood for Hawaii, and Hawaii’s new delegate John A. Burns welcomed the call. Also on the front page was a Sacramento trial, Ming v. Horgan, asking whether builders using FHA or VA financing may refuse to sell homes to Negro buyers, and new threats against Dr. Sammy Lee as he looked for a home in Santa Ana. Harry K. Honda’s column told how his six-year-old daughter voted for a classmate instead of herself.
Inside are the House and Senate Judiciary Committee lineups, a ruling restoring a Tule Lake renunciant’s citizenship, and a column from Mike Masaoka on the Eisenhower-Nixon inaugural. Arts coverage includes Miiko Taka’s casting in Sayonara and Tomiko Kanazawa’s return to the San Francisco Opera House. Chapter news came from Tulare County, Parlier and Oregon’s Nisei Veterans.
What’s in this issue
National
- Eisenhower Urges Statehood for Hawaii and Alaska, by P.C. Staff, page 1. President Eisenhower officially urged Congress to grant statehood to Alaska and reiterated his call for unqualified statehood for Hawaii in his budget message. Hawaii’s new delegate John A. Burns hailed the recommendation as the most hopeful development in years.
- Builders Using Government Financing Sued for Race Bias in Selling Tract Homes, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A Sacramento trial examined whether builders using FHA or VA financing may refuse to sell homes to Negro buyers based on race. The case, Ming v. Horgan, was submitted to Judge Oakley after a week-long trial, and the National JACL Board approved filing as a friend of the court.
- Senate Judiciary Committee Members Named for New Session, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Senate Judiciary Committee retained Sen. James O. Eastland as chairman and named its members for the new session. JACL noted the committee has jurisdiction over immigration, naturalization, civil rights, and constitutional amendments of special concern to the organization.
- House Judiciary Committee Members Named by 85th Congress, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Rep. Emanuel Celler retained the chairmanship of the 32-member House Judiciary Committee for the first session of the 85th Congress. The report details the subcommittee assignments, including those handling immigration and claims that are of particular interest to JACL.
- Nisei Nominated to Federal Posts by President Eisenhower, by P.C. Staff, page 8. President Eisenhower sent nominations for three Nisei and one naturalized Issei to the Senate, including foreign service and armed forces posts. The Washington JACL office reported the nominations.
- Segregation of Latin American Pupils in Driscoll Schools Ruled Discriminatory, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Federal Judge James V. Allred ruled that segregating Latin-American pupils in the first two grades of the Driscoll School District was unreasonably discriminatory. An injunction will prohibit the practice starting with the 1957-58 school year.
Community
- Dr. Sammy Lee Threatened Again in Santa Ana Home Search, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Dr. Sammy Lee and his family received new threats after word spread that he was interested in buying a home on Sharon Road in Santa Ana. Neighbors and the seller’s family also received intimidating calls, echoing earlier opposition in Garden Grove.
- Japanese Suing Stockton for $35,000 Loses Case, by P.C. Staff, page 4. A Stockton superior court jury denied damages to Frank Okuna, who had sued the city and others after slipping on a defective curbstone in 1955. The defense argued Okuna was negligent in failing to watch where he walked.
- Sacramento Supervisors Deny $5,000 Claim by Issei Nursery Operators, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors denied a $5,000 claim by Harry and Momoyo Kiino, Issei nursery operators, who said their flower blossoms were ruined by dust from subdivision grading. The couple is expected to take the matter to court.
- Norwalk Rotarians Elect First Nisei Chairman, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Henry S. Yamaga became the first Japanese American president of the Norwalk Rotary Club. A market operator active in civic affairs, he will attend the Rotary International convention in Lucerne this summer.
- Tulare County JACL Honors Newly Naturalized Issei Citizens, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Tulare County JACL held a banquet honoring twenty-seven recently naturalized Issei citizens at the Visalia Veterans Memorial Building. Joe Grant Masaoka was the main speaker and chapter president Mike Iwamoto presented scrolls to the new citizens.
- Parlier Chapter’s Annual 1000 Club Dinner, by Kenji Tashiro, page 5. Kenji Tashiro, national JACL 1000 Club chairman, reports on the Parlier chapter’s second annual 1000 Club dinner in Fresno, attended by about twenty Thousanders and their wives. The evening aimed to foster fellowship and establish the 1000 Club as a model of JACL membership.
- Sacramento Squad Cops Northern California Nisei Bowling Honors, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Out-of-town keglers took top honors at the seventh annual Northern California Nisei Invitational handicap bowling tournament in San Francisco. TruTime Watch Shop of Sacramento won the men’s team title with a 3058 series.
- The Northwest Picture: Takeshi Kubota and Home-owner Landscaping Legislation, by Ease Ogawa, page 6. Seattle landscaper Takeshi Kubota led efforts to restore landscaping coverage under Title I of the National Housing Act after the 1955 freeze devastated regional nurseries. Senator Warren Magnuson and others took up the cause on his correspondence.
Military & Veterans
- Japan Refugee Returns Home After Year in Uncle Sam Uniform, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Army Pvt. Hideyuki Yamakawa, a Japanese refugee who had worked as a strawberry field laborer in Watsonville, was drafted and sent to Japan for service at Brady Air Base. He expects to be discharged in May and rejoin his family in Watsonville.
- Oregon Nisei Veterans Celebrate 10th Year, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Oregon Nisei Veterans marked their 10th anniversary at the Congress Hotel in Portland on Jan. 12, with state VFW commander Jim Gilroy praising their wartime record. Past commanders were honored and Ko Yada was installed as the new commander.
- Second Inaugural of Eisenhower and Nixon Marked, by Mike Masaoka, page 8. Mike Masaoka reviews the Eisenhower-Nixon administration’s first term highlights for Americans of Japanese ancestry, including Medal of Honor and naturalization ceremonies. He also notes the Budget Message omitted immigration reform, which was promised for later.
Commentary
- Out of the Mouths of Babes, by Harry K. Honda, page 1. Editor Harry Honda recounts how his six-year-old daughter was elected vice-president of her first-grade classroom election and voted for a classmate rather than herself. The anecdote reflects on fairness and the lessons of citizenship taught early.
- Jim Mitsui and the House of Mitsui, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The writer praises Jim Mitsui, a longtime JACL member and Seabrook chapter president, whose daughter is also active in the chapter. The piece argues that families like the Mitsuis can secure JACL’s future membership.
- Responsibilities Begin Today in Every Home, by Akira Hayashi, page 6. National Treasurer Akira Hayashi argues that JACL’s future depends on attracting new members, and that marriage and children are the key to future JACL membership. He concludes that responsibilities to the organization begin in every home.
- Los Angeles Newsletter: Auto Insurance Rates Rise for Nisei Drivers, by Ike Hoshi, page 7. JCIA president Luis Aihara comments on the rise in automobile insurance premiums, noting that unmarried males under 25 face the steepest increases. He observes Los Angeles rates remain lower than those in San Francisco.
Incarceration & Redress
- Tule Lake Renunciant Restored U.S. Citizenship, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Federal Judge William M. Byrne ruled that Kenichi Merton Yoshioka, designated block manager for the Seinen-dan at Tule Lake, did not renounce citizenship of his own free will in 1945. The ruling restored his citizenship despite government objections.
Arts & Entertainment
- Benny Goodman’s Japan Tour Hailed as Major Success, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Japanese columnist John Fujii praised Benny Goodman’s State Department-sponsored tour of Japan as among the most successful promotions of its kind in Asia. He argued Goodman’s music had popularized American culture among young Japanese.
- Nisei Opera Soloist Tomiko Kanazawa Set for San Francisco Season, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Tomiko Kanazawa will return to the San Francisco Opera House in March to sing the title role in Madame Butterfly with the Cosmopolitan Opera Co. She recently returned from engagements with the Vienna Opera.
- Nisei Girl Named Star of Sayonara, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Miiko Taka, a 24-year-old Seattle-born Nisei, was cast as the lead female role opposite Marlon Brando in Warner Brothers’ Sayonara after being discovered at a Los Angeles Nisei Week festival. The article describes her background and the film’s changes from the James Michener novel.
- Nisei Students Stage Japanese Folk Play at Sacramento State, by P.C. Staff, page 7. A reviewer for the Sacramento Bee praised The Good and Obedient Young Man, an adaptation of a Japanese folk story presented by Nisei students at Sacramento State College. The play was staged in the manner of Oriental theater and described as warm, funny, and touching.
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