Evacuation claims, a Nisei basketball crown and chapter news

Vol. 42, No. 14, April 6, 1956. 8 pages. View this issue

Evacuation claims ran through the news of this 8-page issue. A story by Frank F. Chuman said JACL would sign a friend-of-the-court brief in the Sue Ishida escheat appeal. Mike Masaoka wrote from Washington that the Lane Bill on remaining claims, passed by the House, had stalled in the Senate Judiciary Committee, and he urged chapters to contact their senators. The president’s column urged chapters to build ties with local newspapers, and a convention story described the Jr. JACL program planned for San Francisco.

Sports pages followed the San Francisco Chinese Saints to a fifth straight Salt Lake title, and swimmer George Breen’s 1,500-meter record. Bill Hosokawa profiled Dr. Kats Nakadate, a doctor who served with the 442nd and later the 17th Airborne. Harry K. Honda wrote about Canadian Nisei organizing and an Easter drive to Kern County. Chapter pages covered installations, picnics and a new children’s home in Los Angeles.

What’s in this issue

Commentary

• On Developing PR with Community Press, page 1. The JACL president urges chapters to build relationships with local community newspapers to improve public relations. He suggests appointing a chapter member to meet editors and submit Japanese American news items.
• From the Frying Pan: Another Paratrooper, by Bill Hosokawa, page 2. Columnist Bill Hosokawa profiles Dr. Kats Nakadate, a Nisei doctor who became a battalion surgeon with the 17th Airborne after serving with the 442nd. Nakadate saw combat in Europe, earned a Bronze Star and Purple Heart, and later joined the VA.
• Very Truly Yours: An Organized Voice, by Harry K. Honda, page 2. Editor Harry Honda reflects on Canadian Nisei organizational struggles reported in the New Canadian, including the JCCA’s lethargy and the immigration bar. He argues that an organized voice is essential to protect Nisei rights.
• Crank Up No. 2, by Tats Kushida, page 4. Columnist Tats Kushida reports on Nisei-backed film productions and a San Diego Issei recognition banquet. He also praises a proposed HI-CO student conference and notes circulation delays.
• Very Truly Yours: Unforgettable Easter Sunday, by Harry K. Honda, page 7. Harry Honda describes a Easter Sunday drive to Kern County that passed through rain, sleet, hail and snow before reaching spectacular wildflower fields. He concludes with reflections on a highway accident he witnessed.

JACL

• Jr. JACL Program Adopted for 14th National Convention, page 1. The convention board approved a panel discussion and social for Jr. JACLers and younger attendees at the San Francisco national convention. The board also confirmed the Matassi Ranch in San Jose as the convention outing site.
• San Francisco JACL Has 1,025 Paid-Up Members, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The San Francisco chapter surpassed 1,000 paid members for 1956. Additional pledges and renewals are still being collected.

Incarceration & Redress

• Escheat Case Fight on Appeal; JACL to Sign Amicus Brief, by Frank F. Chuman, page 1. JACL will file a friend-of-the-court brief supporting Mrs. Sue Ishida’s appeal of an escheat settlement under the 1953 special statute. The brief argues the lower court misinterpreted the law’s intent to compensate those harmed by the Alien Land Law.
• Stockton Legion Post Protests Newsweek Over Yamamoto Letter, page 8. Karl Ross Post No. 16 American Legion of Stockton passed a resolution protesting a Newsweek letter signed Lincoln Yamamoto that cast doubt on Nisei loyalty. Postal authorities found the name and address fictitious.

National

• Picture-Bride Practice Reversed as Eight Nisei Fly to Japan to Be Married, by Kenneth Ishii, page 1. Eight Los Angeles Nisei men flew to Japan to marry or meet women they courted by mail, reversing the earlier picture-bride pattern. Three weddings took place at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo.
• Justice Dept. Orders Certain Claims to Be Heard by Examiner, page 1. The Justice Department will schedule certain evacuation claims for hearings before its California examiner. Claimants may appear in person at their own expense or submit materials by mail.
• Western Pioneer Proxy Fight Ends in Compromise, page 1. Western Pioneer Insurance ended its bitter proxy battle by naming an all-Nisei 11-member board of directors. The compromise gave the stockholders committee five seats and management four, with two mutually acceptable directors.
• Japanese Pilots Due for Transpacific Flights, page 2. Japan Air Lines plans to assign Japanese pilots from domestic routes to international Pacific flights by the end of the year. The move will replace American pilots employed since February 1954.
• Washington Newsletter: Evacuation Claims Bill, by Mike Masaoka, page 8. Mike Masaoka reports that the Lane Bill on evacuation claims, passed by the House, has stalled in the Senate Judiciary Committee. He urges JACL chapters to contact senators from states with chapters to push for action.
• Senate Judiciary Committee Assigns Lane Claims Bill to Staff Member, by Mike Masaoka, page 8. A Senate Judiciary Committee staff attorney has been assigned to study the Lane bill on remaining evacuation claims. The bill authorizes compromise settlements and extends claim eligibility to new categories of claimants.
• National Civil Liberties Clearinghouse Conference Held in Washington, page 8. Mike Masaoka and Helen Mineta represented JACL at the eighth annual National Civil Liberties Clearing House Conference in Washington. Panels covered civil rights, free speech, and organizational techniques for protecting liberties.

Community

• Issei See Cherry Trees of D.C. Instead of Japan, page 1. Seventeen recently naturalized Issei from Denver toured Washington, D.C. to see the cherry blossoms and the federal government in action. Frank Torizawa and tour leader Z. Kanegaye organized the trip.
• Arizona Flower Growers Praised, page 1. The Arizona Republic magazine featured Japanese flower growers in the Salt River Valley on its cover. The article praised their skill and the spectacular stock blooms of the Nakamura Farms.
• Sanger Community Picnic Apr. 15 at Kearney Park, page 2. The Sanger JACL announced its community picnic at Kearney Park on April 15. A donation was also acknowledged from T. Hikiji.
• Monterey VFW Officers Installed, page 2. Kazu Sugano was installed as commander of the Monterey Peninsula Nisei Memorial VFW Post 1629. Mrs. George Nakashima became the first president of the women’s auxiliary.
• Hilo Nisei Doctor at Oak Ridge Atomic Energy Laboratory Honored for Skin-Graft Research, page 3. Dr. Takashi Makinodan of Hilo, working at Oak Ridge, was honored in the New York Herald Tribune for transplant research. His experiment kept an irradiated mouse alive with rat bone marrow, showing tissue from another species can function.
• San Jose Intercultural Festival Ends Civic Week, page 3. The sixth annual Intercultural Festival in San Jose featured Japanese instrumental numbers and dances by Sansei girls. The event closed the city’s Civic Week sponsored by the Council for Civic Unity.
• Granary Explosion Block Away for Inouye Hostel, page 3. A granary explosion in Philadelphia occurred about a block from the hostel run by Mr. and Mrs. Saburo Inouye since 1944. The Inouyes were away in Los Angeles at the time.
• Friend Enters Orchids in Miami Show, Wins Prize Unknowingly, page 3. Hilo grower Yoshiichi Nakagawa sent orchid sprays to a Florida friend, who entered them in a Miami show without his knowledge. The vandas took second place in the cut-flower division.
• Chicago Corner: Recognition Fete, by Smoky H. Sakurada, page 4. Some 70 members of the Chicago JACL honored former cabinet officers at a recognitions dinner. Speakers urged continued JACL activity, and Dr. Thomas Yatabe presented a past-president pin.
• Greased Pig Chase Planned as Finale of Placer County JACL Community Picnic, by Roy Yoshida, page 5. Placer County JACL prepares its eighth annual community picnic at Recreation Park in Penryn on April 15. The festival will include races, games, a queen contest, an Issei entertainment program, and a greased pig chase.
• Monterey Peninsula JACL Past Leaders Honored at March Chapter Installation, page 5. The Monterey Peninsula JACL installed new officers at a dinner-dance attended by National Director Mas Satow. Past presidents received pins in recognition of their service.
• Mt. Olympus CL President to Move to West Coast, page 5. Over 80 attended a surprise Hawaiian-themed meeting of the Mt. Olympus JACL, where Toby Hirabayashi handed over the presidency. The chapter presented him and his wife with a desk pen set.
• 18-Year-Old Beauty Reigns at SLC Cage Meet, page 6. Eleanor Yamamoto, 18, was chosen queen of the 21st annual Salt Lake Nisei Invitational Basketball Tournament. The selection took place during Welcome Night festivities at the Murray B. Allen Center for the Blind.
• Minnesotan Seeks Data on Chinese American GIs, page 6. Albert N. Wold of Minneapolis requested information from Hawaii’s American Legion Kau-Tom Post about Chinese-American servicemen. He is writing about their wartime contributions.
• Los Angeles Newsletter: The Shonien, by Henry Mori, page 7. Director Mike Suzuki describes the new Japanese Children’s Home of Southern California, set to open in May. The project will house 12 children needing temporary care, and funds are still being raised.

Arts & Entertainment

• Granddaughter of Japanese Emissary Featured at Orange County JACL Fete, by George M. Ichien, page 2. Frieda Harue Kajiya, a singer with a German-Japanese family background, performed at the Orange County JACL installation banquet. Widowed when her husband S/Sgt. Tosh Kajiya died in a jeep accident, she now teaches piano and plans television and opera appearances.
• Japanese Barnum, by Larry S. Tojiri, page 3. Columnist Larry Tojiri recounts the career of showman Kushibiki, the ‘Japanese Barnum’ who supplied Japanese acts to American vaudeville. The column also traces Tsuru Aoki, the first leading lady of Japanese ancestry in Hollywood films.

Sports

• SF Saints Keep Salt Lake Cage Crown for Fifth Time, page 6. The San Francisco Chinese Saints won their fifth straight national Nisei basketball title, edging Hawaii Nisei A.C. 61-60. Albert Mock scored 28 points for the champions.
• Konno Hails 1,500-Meter Swim Record Breaking, page 6. Former Olympic champion Ford Konno praised George Breen’s record-breaking 1,500-meter swim at Yale. Breen’s performance came in the NCAA championships.
• Experts See 1,500-M Swim Mark in 17-Min Bracket, page 6. Japanese swimming experts expressed amazement at George Breen’s world record of 18:05.9 in the 1500-meter freestyle. Japanese federation president Masaji Tabata said the mark suggests future times in the 17-minute range.
• Dodgers Sign Nishita to Pitch in Canada, page 6. The Brooklyn Dodgers signed Hawaiian Nisei pitcher Bill Nishita, a former Tokyo Giants player, to their Montreal Royals triple-A farm team. Nishita had no prior organized baseball experience in the United States.

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