Vol. 29, No. 7, August 13, 1949. 8 pages. View this issue
Legislation for Issei citizenship rights led this 8-page issue. The JACL national board, meeting in Los Angeles on August 6 and 7, urged the JACL and its Anti-Discrimination Committee to press on with their legislative program, and it commended Mike Masaoka’s work on naturalization and immigration bills. Marion Tajiri reported on the treason trial of Iva Toguri d’Aquino, known as Tokyo Rose, as the government neared the end of its case. An editorial noted that fewer than 10,000 evacuee claims had been filed with about four months left before the deadline.
Elsewhere are Larry Tajiri on housing discrimination, Bill Hosokawa on Nisei life in Denver, and Togo Tanaka on Morton Grodzins’ book Americans Betrayed. Marion Tajiri profiled the painter Yasuo Kuniyoshi. The sports page covered swimmer Tak Iseri and Wally Yonamine’s release by the 49ers, and chapter news came from Chicago, Cleveland and Seattle.
What’s in this issue
JACL
- JACL National Board Urges Continued Full-Fledged Fight for Issei Citizen Rights, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The JACL national board meeting in Los Angeles on August 6 and 7 recommended that the JACL and its Anti-Discrimination Committee pursue completion of its legislative program. The board commended Mike Masaoka’s progress on congressional legislation for naturalization and immigration equality and approved continued regional offices and new publication projects.
- National JACL Board Commends Masaoka, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The national board decided to keep the JACL headquarters in Salt Lake City for now while a committee studies moving it to the Pacific coast. The board also approved a Nisei soldier commemoration project, continued the Bruyeres memorial, and awarded the 1950 bowling tournament to San Francisco.
Community
- Child Dies After Fall from Truck, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Five-year-old Dennis Hamada was killed in Compton, California, on August 9 after falling from the front fender of a truck driven by his grandfather. The brief report describes the accident.
- Prosecutor DeWolfe Prepares to Wind Up Government Case in Trial of Mrs. d’Aquino, by Marion Tajiri, page 2. Continued trial coverage describes testimony from Radio Tokyo announcers, a former classmate, and a former Hawaiian Nisei who renounced and reapplied for Japanese citizenship. Witnesses disputed or confirmed statements attributed to the defendant while the defense emphasized police surveillance during the war.
- Report on Minnesota Asiatics Due Soon, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Minnesota Governor Youngdahl’s Interracial Commission will soon issue a study on Asiatics in Minnesota. The section on Japanese Americans was compiled from data submitted by the Rev. Daisuke Kitagawa.
- JACL Chapter Files Complaint on Vandalism, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The San Benito County JACL filed a complaint after repeated vandalism at the Hollister Japanese cemetery, where headstones were overturned and smashed. District Attorney Richard Stevens launched an investigation and warned that offenders would be prosecuted.
- Chicago Chapter Plans Benefit Drive to Raise $3,500, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Chicago JACL finance committee outlined a budget and a benefit drive aiming to raise $3,500 to support chapter activities. A $2,000 reserve is also planned for preparing the 1950 National JACL convention in Chicago.
- Midwest JACL Chapters Will Hold Convention in Cleveland, by Grace Andow, page 7. Midwest JACL chapters will convene in Cleveland on September 17 and 18 with about 250 delegates. National leaders including Hito Okada, Masao Satow, and Mike Masaoka are expected, and the agenda includes business sessions, a banquet, and sports events.
- Seattle JACL Aids Evacuee Claimants, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The Seattle JACL opened an evacuation claims processing clinic at the Seattle Buddhist church, with volunteers helping fill out forms. Additional clinic dates were scheduled for August 17, 19, 24, and 26.
National
- War Goods Still Held by Government, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Items surrendered by Japanese Americans in Southern California before the 1942 evacuation remain in federal storage more than four years after the war. U.S. Marshal James Boyle says the government is paying for warehouse space for goods owners apparently do not want.
- Nisei Professor at Washington Unable to Purchase Home in District Adjacent to School, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A University of Washington professor of Japanese ancestry was unable to buy a home near campus because of his race, the Civic Unity Committee reported. Mayor Devin deplored the unwarranted fears behind such discrimination, which officials said was not an isolated case in Seattle.
- Government Winds Up Case in Trial of Tokyo Rose, by Marion Tajiri, page 1. The government neared the close of its treason case against Iva Toguri d’Aquino as witnesses including Radio Tokyo staff and engineers testified. Defense attorney Wayne Collins drew admissions suggesting the broadcasts attributed to her could have come from other announcers, and that she worked under surveillance.
Military & Veterans
- Ashes of Nisei War Hero Who Died in Italy Returned to Parents in Little Japan Village, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The ashes of Cpl. Kyuzo Enomoto of the 100th Infantry Battalion were returned to his parents in Kitakambara, Niigata prefecture, Japan, in a ceremony with an American honor guard. His mother said her request to repatriate her son’s remains was granted through the Niigata military government team.
Commentary
- Against Segregation in Housing, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. The editorial argues that the Supreme Court’s ruling against racially restrictive covenants has not ended housing discrimination, which persists through subterfuge. It urges the Public Housing Authority to adopt and enforce a clear government policy opposing discrimination.
- Changes Since the Evacuation, by Bill Hosokawa, page 6. Hosokawa responds to a questionnaire from Dr. Robert W. O’Brien on Japanese American life in Denver and reflects on how Nisei life there has settled into a prewar pattern of community-centered living. He suggests that outside pressures after relocation helped recreate the old coastal communities.
- Chicago Tribune Misses Point of Grodzins’ Evacuation Book, by Togo Tanaka, page 6. Tanaka criticizes a Chicago Tribune editorial praising Morton Grodzins’ book Americans Betrayed, which used it mainly to attack Franklin D. Roosevelt. He argues the editorial ignores Roosevelt’s later corrective actions and the book’s central point about democracy’s capacity to right wrongs.
Incarceration & Redress
- Progress on Evacuee Claims, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Fewer than 10,000 evacuee claims had been filed under Public Law 886 with about four months left before the deadline. The editorial compares the limited claims with the estimated $367 million in total evacuation losses documented by Bloom and Riemer.
Arts & Entertainment
- The Artist as a Human Being: The Yasuo Kuniyoshi Story, by Marion Tajiri, page 4. Profile of painter Yasuo Kuniyoshi, tracing his youth as a laborer and bellhop to his success as an American artist. It also covers his work as president of Artists Equity and his continuing frustration as an alien ineligible for citizenship.
- Point Lobos—1949, by Iwao Kawakami, page 4. A poem evoking Point Lobos on the California coast, layering images of early Spanish and mining history over the present landscape of pines, cypress, and surf. The poem contemplates the layers of the past shaping the place.
Sports
- Nisei Captures Junior Crown at AAU Swimfest, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Tak Iseri, a 16-year-old Sacramento YMCA swimmer, defended his Far West AAU junior 100-meter breaststroke title. He also placed fifth in the men’s 100-meter breaststroke event.
- Yonamine, Released by 49ers, May Get Trial With Ball Club, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Wally Yonamine was released by the San Francisco 49ers after the intrasquad game, though he had shown well in practice. He may get a tryout with the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League.
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