Naturalization hearings, a fishing law brief and Nisei war dead

Vol. 26, No. 15, April 10, 1948. 8 pages. View this issue

Citizenship and the law dominated the news. Congressional hearings on H.R. 5004, the bill to repeal racial restrictions in naturalization, were set for April 19, and the JACL Anti-Discrimination Committee reported on them. The JACL also planned a friend of the court brief in the Takahashi case, which challenges California’s fishing restriction before the U.S. Supreme Court. Joe Grant Masaoka denied a newspaper report about JACL politics, and the Washington Post urged action on H.R. 3999, the evacuee claims bill. Memorial plans for Nisei servicemen appeared as well, including burial rites in Los Angeles and a fund drive in Seattle.

Commentary pages include Larry Tajiri on the painter Yasuo Kuniyoshi and Bill Hosokawa’s column. Jon Chinen’s short story about a friendship in a Hawaii hospital runs on page 5. Also inside: Japanese Canadians protesting treatment in British Columbia, the Western Young Buddhist League conference in Los Angeles, and sports from bowling to boxing.

What’s in this issue

Military & Veterans

• Hearing Scheduled for Citizenship Bill, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Congressional hearings on H.R. 5004, the naturalization and immigration bill, have been set for April 19, according to the JACL Anti-Discrimination Committee. The bill seeks to repeal racial restrictions in naturalization law.
• California Nisei Killed in Japan Accident, by P.C. Staff, page 1. T/4 Mioto Nakatsu of Hawthorne, California, was killed when a truck was struck by a train near Miyata, Japan. He was attached to the 1st Cavalry Division.
• Final Burial Rites Planned for Returning War Dead, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Burial services for the first Nisei GIs returned from Europe will be held in Los Angeles, according to the Nisei Veterans Association. The remains of several soldiers will be interred at Evergreen Cemetery in NVA-purchased graves.
• Seattle Group Plans Nisei War Memorial, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Nisei war memorial committee has collected $8,358.65 toward memorial services and a memorial honoring Japanese American servicemen who died in World War II.
• Japanese American Linguists Saved U.S. Lives, Shortened Pacific War, Says Col. Mashbir, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Col. Sidney F. Mashbir credits Japanese American linguists in the Pacific with saving thousands of American lives and shortening the war by months. He recounts their loyalty and bravery in intelligence work despite facing hardship.
• Army Recruiting Service Plans Salt Lake Meeting for Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Nisei veterans are invited to a April 30 meeting in Salt Lake City where World War II Victory and American Defense medals will be presented. Films and an opportunity to ask questions about benefits will also be offered.

Community

• Denver JACL Makes Memorial Day Plans, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Denver JACL approved plans for a Memorial Day observance in cooperation with the American Legion. Ceremonies will begin at 11:30 a.m. at the Honganji hall.
• Japanese Canadians Protest Discriminatory Treatment of Group in British Columbia, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Japanese Canadian Citizens Association national conference in Winnipeg united provincial chapters on key issues, including crown timber and elections act restrictions in British Columbia. Delegates voted to protest discriminatory treatment and endorsed a fair employment practices campaign.
• Two Children Die as Fire Destroys Home, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Two children of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Tsutsui died in a fire that destroyed their Salt Lake City home on April 3. The father attempted heroic rescues before being overcome by smoke and was pulled from the building by a passerby.
• Pocatello JACL Contributes to Hospital Fund, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Pocatello JACL donated $100 to the St. Anthony hospital expansion fund, bringing total contributions to $168,000. The chapter’s public service committee made the donation.
• Payette Nisei Student to Go on Navy Cruise, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Tommy Maeda, valedictorian of Payette high school, was selected for an 18-day U.S. Naval Reserve cruise to Honolulu this summer. He had also represented his school in visiting the Freedom Train in Boise.
• Dr. Saito Named to Head Campaign, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Dr. Frank H. Saito of Brigham City was named chairman of the Box Elder county cancer campaign by the Amvets post. The appointment was announced in the Pacific Citizen.
• Western Young Buddhists Back JACL-ADC Program at First Postwar Confab in Los Angeles, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Western Young Buddhist League endorsed the JACL ADC national legislative program at its conference in Los Angeles attended by about 900 delegates. The group also supported a Buddhist record project and a seminary.
• Stranded Nisei Granted Visa to Attend Trial, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Etsuko Arikawa, a stranded Nisei, was granted a permit by the American consulate in Yokohama to travel to the United States to attend a hearing on her suit to regain citizenship. She lost citizenship after voting in a Japanese election.
• Noboru Iwami Wins Tooele Cage Trophy, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Noboru Iwami, a 15-year-old sophomore, received the Paul Thomas trophy as Tooele high school’s top basketball player. He was selected by opposing coaches for his dependable guard play that helped the team reach the state tournament.
• Imoto Elected to Lindsay VFW Post, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Hiroshi Imoto, a veteran of the 522nd Field Artillery who served in Europe, was elected junior vice commander of the Lindsay Veterans of Foreign Wars post. The election was reported in the Pacific Citizen.
• Miss Bussei Crowned at L.A. Conference, by P.C. Staff, page 7. June Manji of Sacramento was named California’s Miss Bussei of 1948 at the Western Young Buddhist League conference dinner dance in Los Angeles. Dr. Eric L. Titus of USC was the main speaker at the event attended by over 1,000 people.

National

• JACL Brief in Takahashi Case Will Attack California Defense of Anti-Alien Fishing Code, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The JACL will file a friend of the court brief in the Takahashi case challenging California’s Section 990 fishing restriction before the U.S. Supreme Court. The brief argues the law was motivated by war hysteria and race prejudice rather than conservation.
• California Editor Says 50 Years of Prejudice Revised in State, by P.C. Staff, page 1. William Wren, managing editor of the San Francisco Examiner, told JACL ADC director Joe Grant Masaoka that anti-Japanese attitudes in California have changed significantly in recent years. He nonetheless believed naturalization for Japanese aliens was premature given wartime hostility.
• ADC Officials Have Conference with Wyoming Governor, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Roy Takeno and T. Kako of the JACL ADC met with Wyoming Governor Lester Hunt and community leaders to discuss the organization’s legislative program. They also met with Nisei and Issei groups in Cheyenne and Rock Springs.
• Red Cross Seeks Families of Nisei Killed in Europe, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The San Francisco Red Cross is seeking three families of Japanese American servicemen who died overseas. Anyone with information on their whereabouts is asked to contact the home service inquiry supervisor.
• Masaoka Denies Hearst Story on Politics, by P.C. Staff, page 3. JACL ADC west coast director Joe Grant Masaoka denied a San Francisco Examiner report that he pledged the JACL’s support to General MacArthur’s presidential campaign. He stated the JACL constitution prohibits endorsing candidates for public office.
• Washington Post Urges Early Action on Evacuee Claims Bill, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Washington Post editorially urged prompt congressional passage of H.R. 3999, which would provide token compensation to evacuees for property losses. The newspaper argued the Nisei are entitled to compensation for losses suffered through no fault of their own.

JACL

• Denver Chapter to Enter Contest for JACL Queen, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Denver JACL will hold a local queen contest to select an entrant for the National JACL queen contest at the September convention in Salt Lake City. Voting rules and a coronation ball on May 1 were outlined.

Commentary

• Yasuo Kuniyoshi, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. Yasuo Kuniyoshi is the first living American painter to receive a retrospective at New York’s Whitney Museum, a show covering his first quarter-century as an artist. The article traces his hardships, his organizing work for artists, and the themes of his paintings.
• Permanent Levy on Japanese Aliens, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial criticizes the Wiley alien registration bill as placing an unfair burden on resident Japanese aliens ineligible for citizenship. It argues the bill underscores the need to pass the Judd bill to equalize naturalization.
• An Increase in Race Prejudice, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial examines the Anti-Defamation League’s survey showing a rise in anti-Semitism, particularly subtle everyday discrimination in housing, employment, and education. It warns Nisei that anti-Jewish prejudice cannot serve as a buffer against anti-Nisei sentiment.
• Bill Hosokawa: From the Frying Pan, by Bill Hosokawa, page 6. Hosokawa comments on the Denver JACL queen contest, the film Gentlemen’s Agreement, the plight of Japanese war brides at Fitzsimmons hospital, and the difference between store-bought and homemade kites. He reflects on how easy purchases may reduce children’s self-reliance.

Arts & Entertainment

• Nisei USA: Yasuo Kuniyoshi, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. Yasuo Kuniyoshi is honored with the first retrospective by New York’s Whitney Museum for a living American painter. The column covers his early hardships, his leadership of Artists Equity, and his major works.
• Save Me a Lei, by Jon Chinen, page 5. A Nisei soldier recounts his friendship with Swedish-American medical technician Edvard ‘Blondie’ Olsen at a Hawaii hospital. The story follows their parting when Blondie is evacuated home with tuberculosis.
• Some Day, He Said, I’ll Show You My Hawaii, by Jon Chinen, page 5. A Nisei patient in a Hawaii hospital recounts his unusual friendship with Blondie Olsen, a Minnesota medic who was evacuated to the States with tuberculosis. The story is told as a tribute to their shared love of the islands.

Obituaries

• Memory of Dr. Shuichi Kusaka Will Be Perpetuated by Fund, by P.C. Staff, page 6. A memorial fund is being established in honor of Dr. Shuichi Kusaka, a Japanese Canadian physicist at Princeton who drowned in 1947. The fund will create an annual physics prize awarded regardless of race, color, or national origin.

Sports

• Hawaiian Bowlers Sweep Series with Denver Keglers, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The touring Hawaiian Ambassadors bowling teams swept their matches against Denver teams at the Recreation alleys on April 1. The Hawaiian team included Nisei bowlers barred from ABC national competition by its racial clause.
• Vocalist Wins Scholarship, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Uta Shimotsuka, a Nisei vocalist from Salinas, received the Van Kirk scholarship from the Schubert club of St. Paul. She also won first place on a Stairway to Stardom radio show.
• Kagawa Wins Texas Boxing Championship, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Henry Kagawa of Webster, Texas, won the 112-pound amateur boxing championship of Texas and was sent to represent the state at the National AAU tournament in Boston. He later lost a split decision there.

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