Issei voting, citizenship and refugee relief in the fall of 1954

Vol. 39, No. 17, October 22, 1954. 8 pages. View this issue

The vote, and who could cast it, ran through much of this eight-page issue. On the front page, Harry Miyake of the Santa Maria Valley JACL urged candidates at a political rally to support more liberal tax and pension laws for aged Issei. Other stories covered Issei sworn in as citizens in Washington, D.C., and a voting machine demonstration for new citizens in Chicago. Mike Masaoka wrote on the Issei-Nisei vote in close congressional races and pressed officials to speed Refugee Relief Act cases in Japan.

Elsewhere, the 442nd was remembered with Nisei Soldiers Memorial Day plans in Washington and Salt Lake City and a showing of Go For Broke! Larry Tajiri argued that the Supreme Court should revisit the Yasui, Hirabayashi and Korematsu decisions. Columns came from Bill Hosokawa, Harry Honda, Chizu Iiyama and Lawrence Nakatsuka.

What’s in this issue

Community

• Plea for More Liberal Tax, Pension Laws Made at Santa Maria Nisei Rally, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Harry Miyake, president of the Santa Maria Valley JACL, urged candidates at a political rally to support more liberal tax and pension laws for aged Issei. He argued that Issei who paid taxes but were barred from citizenship deserve pension eligibility and asked the candidates to correct such inequalities after election.
• JACL Assistance to Push Community Chest Sought, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Denver’s Community Chest chairman asked the Japanese community to again help with the annual fundraising drive for the lower downtown section. Local JACL indicated willingness to assist and volunteers were asked to contact the JACL office.
• Widow Sues for Husband’s Death in Idaho Car Accident, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Polly Chin Sugai and her children filed a $203,000 damage suit against General Motors and Logsdon Motor Co. in federal court over the death of Don Sugai in a car accident near Boise. The suit claims the Cadillac he was driving had defective brakes and a defective rear wheel.
• Voting Machine Use Demonstrated to Issei, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A special meeting of the Chicago JACL and Japanese American Service Committee instructed new citizens on the use of voting machines. The Chicago Board of Election Commissioners conducted the demonstration at a city hall.
• Berkeley Buddhist Church Building Permit Granted, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The city of Berkeley granted a building permit for a new $168,500 Berkeley Buddhist Church. Ground breaking ceremonies were held the previous Sunday.
• PC Holiday Issue Greetings Solicited Until Nov. 15, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Sam Y. Matsumoto, president of the Mile-Hi JACL, announced that the chapter is soliciting greetings for the Pacific Citizen Holiday Issue. Rates and committee contacts were provided, with a November 15 deadline.
• Honolulu Newsletter: Tourism Begins to Take Hold, by Lawrence Nakatsuka, page 3. Nakatsuka reports that tourism is growing rapidly in Hawaii as a source of jobs for young Nisei and Sansei, with new Waikiki hotels expected to add 1,000 rooms. He notes that falling air fares and the islands’ Aloha spirit are key drivers, while training programs are needed to fill the new positions.
• Chicago Corner, by Chizu Iiyama, page 4. Iiyama surveys Nisei involvement in the Chicago elections, noting active participation by Nisei volunteers for Congressman Sid Yates and Barratt O’Hara. She also describes Illinois reapportionment amendment support across parties and civic groups.
• 50 CLers Hear Utah Candidates, by P.C. Staff, page 4. About fifty members of the Salt Lake JACL met congressional candidates William Dawson and Reva Beck Bosone at an October meeting. Chapter president Rupert Hachiya also gave a report on the national convention.
• Placer County Hosts Fourth Quarterly NC-WNDC Meeting, by Haruo Ishimaru, page 5. The Placer County JACL will host the fourth quarterly Northern California-Western Nevada District Council meeting and its 14th annual Goodwill Banquet on November 7. The column also recalls the chapter’s 25-year charter members and their recent honors.
• Give Till It Hurts, by Haruo Ishimaru, page 5. Ishimaru describes donating blood at the San Francisco JACL blood bank drive and encourages chapters to cooperate with blood programs. He notes that Bay Area hospitals receive about 3,000 transfusions monthly.
• Los Angeles Newsletter: Honors and Business Notes, by Henry Mori, page 7. Mori reports that Frank Fujino, the Nisei national service officer for the Disabled American Veterans, received a national citation for his service to veterans. He also notes that George Furuta opened the Imperial Gardens restaurant in the Hershey Arms Hotel.

National

• Issei Become Citizens in Washington, D.C. Ceremonies, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Rev. James Tadahito Shizuoka and others received American citizenship during a special naturalization ceremony held during the National Conference on Citizenship in Washington. Shizuoka, a former translator for the Washington JACL, then became a regular JACL member.
• Two Nisei with Service in Japanese Army Win in Citizenship Court Cases, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Federal Judge Lindberg in Seattle ruled that Kazutaka Tamura did not lose his U.S. citizenship despite Japanese Army service, since it was involuntary. In a separate Los Angeles case, Shusaku Miyazaki was similarly found to have retained citizenship because his army service was also involuntary.
• Refugee Relief Program Not Up to Expectations for Japanese, by Mike Masaoka, page 1. Mike Masaoka urged government officials to speed up processing of Refugee Relief Act cases in Japan, warning that American sponsors and Japanese applicants were growing discouraged. He argued the slow progress undermined goodwill and gave anti-American elements in Japan a propaganda advantage.
• S.F. Body Sets Up $500,000 Loan for Immigration Funds, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The International Farmers Aid Association, an Issei-Nisei group, plans a $500,000 loan fund to finance immigration of about 1,000 Japanese under the 1953 Refugee Relief Act. Under the plan, refugees would repay loans through monthly payments after arriving in the United States.

Military & Veterans

• Miyamura to Get Nisei of the Biennium Scroll, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Albuquerque JACL scheduled a formal presentation of the Nisei of the Biennium scroll to Medal of Honor recipient Hiroshi Miyamura at its November community dinner. Recently naturalized Issei of New Mexico will also be honored at the event.
• Washington Nisei Soldiers Memorial Day Program Announced, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The National JACL Arlington Cemetery Committee released the program for the tenth anniversary Nisei Soldiers Memorial Day services at Arlington National Cemetery on October 31. Former Major Orville Shirey of the 442nd will be the principal speaker.
• Salt Lakers Plan Oct. 30 Observance, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The Salt Lake JACL will hold a Nisei Soldiers Memorial Day observance at the Veterans Memorial in Salt Lake Cemetery on Sunday afternoon. The event commemorates the tenth anniversary of the rescue of the Lost Battalion by the 442nd.
• Special Showing of ‘Go For Broke!’ Set for Washington, by P.C. Staff, page 4. A special showing of MGM’s film Go For Broke! honoring the 442nd Combat Team will take place October 30 at the Motion Picture Industry Theater in Washington. Tickets for JACL members will be handled on a first-come, first-served basis.

Commentary

• Tokyo Topics, by Tamotsu Murayama, page 2. Murayama argues that Japan is losing trust in the United States while Germany gains American support, blaming Japanese business leaders who fail to recognize the world situation. He also criticizes gambling, labor unrest, and neglect of national infrastructure as signs of a pessimistic postwar Japanese spirit.
• Issei-Nisei Vote, by Mike Masaoka, page 2. Masaoka argues that the Nisei and newly naturalized Issei vote could be decisive in close 1954 congressional races in several western and midwestern states. He also reviews the committee chairmen likely to handle Japanese American legislation in the next Congress, noting both parties have supported beneficial laws.
• Very Truly Yours: L.A. Irritants, by Harry Honda, page 2. Honda criticizes the Los Angeles County supervisors’ decision to outlaw private incinerators while larger polluters such as oil refineries go largely unchecked. He argues the crackdown on residents burning yard clippings is misdirected.
• Supreme Court Conscience of the Land, by Larry Tajiri, page 7. Tajiri argues that the Supreme Court should revisit its wartime Yasui-Hirabayashi and Korematsu decisions upholding curfew and mass evacuation. He notes the court later reversed course on California’s alien land and fishing laws, though the wartime rulings remain a dangerous precedent.
• One Single Vote, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The editorial reflects on the debate over racial bloc voting, comparing Lawrence Nakatsuka’s Hawaii analysis with Mike Masaoka’s view of the mainland Issei-Nisei vote. It argues that a more educated electorate and newly naturalized Issei make the vote an important political asset.
• From the Frying Pan, by Bill Hosokawa, page 8. Hosokawa describes meeting Takako Shibusawa, a Japanese Episcopal lay delegate, and her traveling companions on a trip across America. He also notes that Mariko Mukai, a Seattle-born singer, will perform the role of Gilda in Denver.

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