Evacuation claims, the omnibus immigration bill and the Southwood case

Vol. 34, No. 9, March 1, 1952. 8 pages. View this issue

Money for evacuation claims led the news. Holmes Baldridge, an assistant attorney general, asked a House Appropriations subcommittee for funds to pay compromise settlements, and Mike Masaoka said the JACL Anti-Discrimination Committee would endorse the $15 million request. Immigration ran alongside it: a House report on the Walter omnibus bill endorsed removing race as a bar to naturalization, and Senate Majority Leader Ernest McFarland promised Masaoka early action on the McCarran bill. Editorials on page 4 closed the Southwood housing case, and Larry Tajiri wrote about race stereotypes and the wrestler Great Togo.

Elsewhere, Bill Hosokawa wrote about Nisei working for the occupation in Japan, and a review covered Allen Eaton’s Beauty Behind Barbed Wire. Page 3 reported on the death of Akira Kumasaka in Seattle. Sports and chapter news filled pages 6 to 8, including the national JACL bowling tournament in Denver.

What’s in this issue

National

• Justice Official Asks Funds for Compromise Payments, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Holmes Baldridge, assistant attorney general, testified before a House Appropriations subcommittee seeking funds for compromise settlements of evacuation claims. Mike Masaoka said the JACL ADC would endorse the $15 million request.
• House Group’s Report on Omnibus Bill Notes Removal of Race Bars to Citizenship, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The House Judiciary Committee report on the Walter omnibus immigration bill endorses removing race as a bar to naturalization and immigration. The report notes the bill would make persons of Japanese and other Asian ancestry eligible for naturalization.
• Believe Two Nisei Involved In Bold Tokyo Bank Holdup, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Two Nisei are believed to have participated in a daylight robbery of a Tokyo bank along with two Caucasian Americans. Japanese criticism of occupation crimes prompted a response from Col. R. T. Chaplin of the Far East command.
• Bill Seeks Drastic Penalties For Acts of Vandalism, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Rep. Louis B. Heller introduced a bill providing severe penalties, including death, for vandalism motivated by racial or religious prejudice. Mike Masaoka noted such legislation might have prevented attacks on Japanese Americans after 1945.
• Mayor, Police Chief Express Regrets to Mrs. Kumasaka, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Seattle Mayor William Devin and Police Chief George Eastman visited Mrs. Sayo Kumasaka to express regret over her husband’s death after a jail detention. Akira Kumasaka had been held on a mistaken intoxication charge.
• Probe Shows Kumasaka Ill, Not Intoxicated, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Police Chief Eastman said an investigation showed Akira Kumasaka had not been drinking when jailed after a traffic accident. Kumasaka died of a stroke and pneumonia about 48 hours after release.
• Promise Early Senate Group Action on Omnibus Proposal, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Senate Majority Leader Ernest McFarland promised Mike Masaoka he would urge early action on the McCarran Omnibus Immigration Bill. Sen. Lehman objected to its consideration and planned a substitute measure.
• Senate Group Would Suspend Deportation for 30 Aliens, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved suspension of deportation proceedings for 30 alien Japanese under a JACL ADC sponsored 1948 law. Both House and Senate must concur for the aliens to gain permanent resident status.
• Issei Gold Star Mother Seeks Return to U.S., by P.C. Staff, page 3. The House Judiciary Committee favorably reported four private relief bills for persons of Japanese ancestry. One would allow Michi Masaoka, mother of eight American citizen children, to return to the United States after being stranded in Japan.
• Charge N.Y. Nisei Tenants Face Second “Evacuation”, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A tenants group charged that a city-backed cooperative housing plan in Morningside Heights would displace Japanese, Chinese, Negro and Puerto Rican families. The group called the displacement a repetition of the 1942 evacuation.

Military & Veterans

• First Nisei Navy Pilot Sees Action With Fleet in Korea, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Ensign Joe Akagi, a Nisei Navy pilot aboard the USS Valley Forge, is planning to visit relatives in Japan after his ship leaves the Korean operating area. He earned his Navy wings in 1950 after entering through the V-5 program.
• Nisei Officer Awarded Army Flying Cross, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Lt. Henry J. Nagao received the Distinguished Flying Cross for a November 1951 flight over Korea. He remained over an enemy artillery target making adjustments despite icing and enemy anti-aircraft fire.
• Ballet Star’s Brother Gets Promotion In Regular Army, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Timothy Osato, brother of ballet star Sono Osato, was nominated to be a First Lieutenant in the Regular Army. He served with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team in Italy and France and received several decorations.

Community

• Kushihashi Enters West Coast Nisei Trophy Air Race, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Albert Kushihashi, 1950 winner of the Henry Ohye Trophy air race, is the first entrant in the 1952 race from Los Angeles to San Francisco via Fresno. The race will be held in June in conjunction with the National JACL convention.
• Wyoming Girl Named To Student Body Post At Denver School, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Agnes Ujifusa of Worland, Wyo., a sophomore, was selected secretary of the Associated Women Students of the University of Denver. She is a graduate of Washakie County High School.
• Gardena Acts To Streamline Chapter, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Gardena Valley JACL reorganized by eliminating elected officers and cabinet in favor of a board of directors chaired by Ryo Komae. The chapter will focus its activities on supporting the national JACL ADC program.
• Double Tragedy Strikes Home of Alameda Family, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Kuniichi Tawa died Feb. 21 after a long illness, and his son Harry Hiroshi, the family’s sole supporter, died the next day. Combined funeral services were held Feb. 26.
• Yasui Speaks to Sedgwick Rotary, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Min Yasui, JACL regional representative, addressed the Sedgwick, Colo., Rotary Club on problems affecting Nisei and Issei. He called for support of legislation granting naturalization rights to Japanese resident aliens.
• Los Angeles Names Nisei as Analyst In City Bureau, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Doug Tamaru, a University of California graduate, was appointed administrative analyst in the Los Angeles city administration. He is believed to be the first Nisei to hold such a position in local city government.
• Chinese American Family Wins Moral Victory But Southwood Remains White Community, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Sing Sheng family was excluded from the Southwood subdivision in South San Francisco despite widespread public protest. Some residents expressed willingness to change their votes, but no new vote was taken.
• Cleveland Chapter Holds Program on Brotherhood Theme, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Cleveland JACL took part in a Brotherhood Week program with more than 12 nationality groups. The chapter presented a kimono demonstration at the event.
• Truck Runs Down Cousin of Children Killed in Florin Fire, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Four-year-old Marene Masaye Matsubara was crushed to death by a delivery truck a day after three cousins died in a fire near Florin, Calif. Her parents were preparing to attend the funeral.
• Elect Harry Fujita To Head JACL in Downtown L.A., by P.C. Staff, page 3. Results of the mail ballot election named Harry M. Fujita president of the Downtown Los Angeles JACL chapter for 1952. Other officers were elected to the cabinet.
• Name JACL’s Akagi To Housing Board, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Housing Conference of Chicago elected Richard Akagi, Midwest regional representative of the JACL, to its Executive Board. The conference is the largest civic organization in Chicago concerned with public housing.
• Takai Misses “300” by One Pin In Coast Tourney, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Yulene Takai of Sacramento rolled eleven consecutive strikes at the El Dorado Bowl Singles Classic in Stockton but missed a perfect game with the twelfth ball. He received a 299 award from the ABC.
• Denver Plays Host to JACL National Tourney, by P.C. Staff, page 6. More than 300 individual bowlers and 16 women’s teams competed in the sixth annual National JACL bowling tournament in Denver. Teams came from across the country, with Denver fielding the most men’s teams.
• Tennis Meet Will Feature JACL Confab, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The JACL Convention Tennis Committee planned men’s singles and doubles events for June 28 and 29 at Golden Gate Park as part of the National JACL convention in San Francisco. Entry deadline is June 8.
• Denver JACL Has Successful Benefit, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Approximately 200 people attended a JACL-ADC benefit at Adams City Junior High gym in Denver, raising several hundred dollars. Local organizations and volunteers were thanked for their assistance.
• Wyoming Chapter Installs Cabinet, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The Northern Wyoming JACL installed its newly elected officers at a dinner in Worland on Feb. 9. Eighty persons attended, including out-of-state guests from Nebraska and Denver.
• Intermountain Nisei Christians to Hold Conclave in Pocatello, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The Intermountain Christian Youth Conference will be held March 1 and 2 at the First Methodist Church in Pocatello under the theme To Serve the Present Age. Registration and program details were announced.
• Portland Groups To Hold Bazaar, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The Veleda Club and Portland Nisei Vets will hold their second annual bazaar at Nichiren Church on March 30. Prizes will be awarded to ticket holders.
• 200 More Evacuees Settle Claims Via Compromise Plan, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The Department of Justice released names of 200 more evacuees awarded compromise settlements, though checks await supplemental funds. The JACL ADC urged claimants with smaller claims to submit offers before the March 15 deadline.
• ELA Chapter Aids Claimants On Compromise, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The East Los Angeles JACL provided free assistance to many evacuee claimants, mostly Issei, to meet the March 15 deadline for compromise settlement filings. Attorney Kei Uchima provided legal aid.
• Two JACL Members to Serve On OPS Advisory Committee, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Regional Director Tats Kushida and alternate Marvel Miyata were appointed to the Los Angeles Consumer Advisory Committee of the Office of Price Stabilization. The committee includes representatives from 30 community agencies.
• Install Shig Ochi In Presidency of Detroit Chapter, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The Detroit JACL held its installation dinner and dance on Feb. 23, installing Shig Ochi as president. Richard Akagi conducted the installation rites and guest speaker Mrs. Philip Gentile addressed the group.
• Jolenes Hold Sixth Valentine Dance, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The Jolene girls club of Chicago held its sixth annual Cupid’s Hop on Feb. 9. Fuku Sakuma and Dick Hirasuna were selected as the traditional cutest couple.
• Nisei Coed Reigns As Campus Snow Queen, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Toni Hirama of Granada, Colo., was chosen Queen of the Snowball at Colorado State College in Fort Collins. The senior is president of the AAUW cooperative residence for women students.

Arts & Entertainment

• Mass Evacuation “Senseless,” Says Pearl Buck in Review, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Pearl Buck reviewed Allen Eaton’s book Beauty Behind Barbed Wire, calling the 1942 mass evacuation senseless. She praised the book’s record of the creative arts produced by Japanese Americans in WRA camps.
• Tenor to Sing in Chicago for ADC Benefit, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Yoshie Fujiwara, star and director of Japan’s largest opera company, will perform at a Chicago JACL benefit for the 1952 ADC fund drive on March 8. The program is sponsored with the Chicago Japanese American Music Club.
• Beauty Behind Barbed Wire, by M. O. T., page 5. A book review of Allen Eaton’s collection of art produced by Japanese Americans in WRA camps. The reviewer describes how evacuees created beauty from desert materials and praises the book’s captions and humanity.

Commentary

• Southwood, USA, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial concludes the Sing Sheng case at Southwood is over but warns that similar restrictive housing communities exist across the country. It argues the incident exposed prejudices that could recur nationwide.
• The Right to Work, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial praises Washington state’s Fair Employment Practices board for resolving discrimination through mediation without court action. It notes job discrimination in Washington is more pronounced against Japanese and Chinese Americans than against Negroes.
• What About Race Stereotypes, by Larry Tajiri, page 5. Tajiri examines the harm of racial stereotypes, using the controversy over wrestler George Okamura’s villainous Great Togo persona as an example. He traces how the Hashimura Togo stereotype fueled anti-Japanese policy and the wartime evacuation.
• From the Frying Pan, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Hosokawa reports on growing concern among Nisei working for the occupation as their jobs end and they face readjustment to America. He also notes several former West Coast Nisei journalists are assigned to cover the Korean war.
• Box-Score on Race Relations: A Program for Group Action, by Elmer R. Smith, page 5. Smith analyzes three types of interracial action groups: pleaders, educators, and fighters. He argues preaching and education alone are insufficient and that effective action depends on knowing the situation.
• Smog-Lites: Mr. Moto and Great Togo, by Shiro Matsumoto, page 6. Matsumoto satirizes the controversy over wrestlers Mr. Moto and the Great Togo, which had drawn criticism from Japanese language papers. He argues the debate should focus on human dignity rather than personal conduct in the ring.

Sports

• Nagai Leads Doks to Bussei Cage Victory, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The West Los Angeles Lucky Doks won the Western Young Buddhists League basketball tournament in San Jose by defeating the Oakland YBA 69 to 63. Dick Nagai led the Doks with 19 points and was named tournament’s most outstanding player.
• Tosaya, Tao Win Honors in Cleveland Bowling Tourney, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Tosh Tosaya and K. Tao won major honors in a Cleveland handicap bowling tournament held to support the New China Restaurant team’s entry in the National JACL tournament. Tosaya took the singles and Tao took the doubles and all-events.

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