Evacuation claims, citizenship and the Walter naturalization bill

Vol. 32, No. 7, February 17, 1951. 8 pages. View this issue

Claims and citizenship ran through the news of this 8-page issue. The Attorney General estimated that about $450,000 in evacuation claims would be paid before July 1, and Mike Masaoka of the JACL ADC called the proposed budget fair. Counsel Wayne Collins planned to seek a rehearing of the Ninth Circuit ruling on Tule Lake renunciants. Companion bills from Sen. McCarran and Rep. Walter would repeal remaining Oriental Exclusion provisions and end racial restrictions on naturalization, and an editorial urged passage of the Walter bill. Columns by Larry Tajiri and Bill Hosokawa looked at prejudice, and Elmer Smith reviewed the JACL’s legislative work.

Other pages followed the Korean War, including a rifle range at Camp Drake renamed for Pfc. Mitsuru Goto and the heroism of Corp. John Seiji Akiyama. A Little Tokyo discussion, Yuriko’s dance role in The King and I, and JACL bowling tournament news round out the issue.

What’s in this issue

National

• Attorney General Estimates $450,000 in Evacuee Claims Will Be Paid Before July 1, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Attorney General estimated that the Justice Department would pay about $450,000 in evacuation claims before July 1 and $500,000 in fiscal 1952. Mike Masaoka of the JACL ADC noted that the proposed budget is fair and reflects general improvement in the claims program.
• Omnibus Bills Would Repeal Exclusion Act, End Racial Restrictions in Naturalization, by I. H. Gordon, page 1. Companion omnibus immigration and naturalization bills introduced by Sen. McCarran and Rep. Walter would repeal remaining Oriental Exclusion provisions and remove racial restrictions on naturalization. The JACL ADC, which drafted the proposals, expects Congress may adopt an omnibus bill this year.
• New Procedures Will Speed Action on Stays of Deportation, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Immigration and Naturalization Service said new procedures would expedite stays of deportation for roughly 2,000 Japanese treaty merchants and other stranded aliens. Aliens may apply for a stay at any time, and the JACL ADC urged those facing hardship to write with complete case information.

Incarceration & Redress

• Renunciants Seek Rehearing On Appellate Court’s Verdict, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Counsel Wayne Collins will seek a rehearing of the Ninth Circuit ruling requiring Tule Lake renunciants to prove loyalty before regaining citizenship. The ACLU of Northern California criticized the decision as shaped by loyalty hysteria from the Korean conflict.
• Rule Against Damages for Death in Camp, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Justice Department ruled that evacuation claims cannot include damages for deaths in relocation camps, mental suffering, or lost earnings. The claimant was awarded $120 for a forced sale and theft of personal property.

Community

• Shelved Musical Sends Yoshiko Rikoran Yamaguchi Back to Japan, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Production of the musical Messer Marco Polo was postponed indefinitely due to the Korean war, prompting actress Yoshiko Rikoran Yamaguchi to return to Japan. The producers felt a Chinese-background musical was ill-timed given current war conditions.
• Wartime Evacuees Now Own 550 Homes In Toronto Area, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Japanese Canadian evacuees who resettled in the Toronto area now own 550 homes valued at over $5,000,000, according to the New Canadian. Many are purchasing homes in suburban areas through government-sponsored long-term payment plans.
• JACL Discussion Considers Future of Little Tokyo Area, by P.C. Staff, page 2. A Downtown Los Angeles JACL panel discussed declining business conditions in Little Tokyo, citing shifting shopping patterns of Issei and Nisei. Panelists suggested improved merchandising, greater variety of shops, and a Junior Chamber of Commerce to unify Nisei businessmen.
• Recall Colorado Group’s Fight To Aid Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Colorado Committee for Fair Play, which fought anti-Japanese land ownership restrictions and wartime propaganda in 1944, dissolved in January. Its dissolution was seen as symbolic of changed public attitudes toward persons of Japanese ancestry in Colorado.
• Church Announces Rebuilding Program, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The First Baptist Church of Chicago announced a $52,000 rebuilding program to serve its interracial congregation. Under the ministry of Japanese American pastor Dr. Jitsuo Morikawa, the church has grown rather than declined as the neighborhood changed.
• Kawano, Hawaii Union Leader, Urges Rank and File of ILWU To Purge Communist Members, by Lawrence Nakatsuka, page 3. Jack H. Kawano, an early ILWU organizer in Hawaii, disclosed he had once belonged to the Communist Party and urged union members to rid the ILWU of Communists. He said the party used the union for purposes beyond trade union matters.
• Philadelphia Sets Membership Record, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Philadelphia JACL reached a record 182 members at the close of its three-month membership campaign, a 48 percent increase over last year. The drive was run as a football game between the Eagles and Pacers teams.
• Map Plans for Blood Donation Drive in Los Angeles Area, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Leaders of Los Angeles Japanese American organizations met with the American Red Cross to plan a community-wide blood donation drive. Committee chairs and regional subcommittees were named, and group donor participation was encouraged.
• Salt Lake JACL Prints History, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A 15-page history of the Salt Lake City JACL, compiled by Mrs. Alice Kasai with Rose Yagi and Prof. Elmer R. Smith, was distributed to members. It covers the chapter’s activity since its 1935 founding.

Obituaries

• Noted Pioneer Hawaiian Issei Dies of Illness, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Rev. Takie Okumura, a pioneer Honolulu minister and educator, died Feb. 10 at age 86. He founded Hawaii’s first Japanese language school, the Japanese YMCA, and the Okumura Boys’ and Girls’ home, and authored 11 books.

Military & Veterans

• First Cavalry Honors Nisei Who Died on Korean Front, by P.C. Staff, page 2. A rifle range at Camp Drake near Tokyo was renamed Goto Range in honor of Pfc. Mitsuru Goto, the First Cavalry Division’s first Korean War fatality. Goto had earlier been honored by a Japanese village for rescuing a girl from a stream.
• Bill to Restore Citizenship Rights to Wartime Strandee Group Proposed by JACL, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The JACL ADC proposed legislation to allow Americans who lost citizenship by voting in Japanese elections of 1946 and 1947 to regain it through naturalization oath. Mike Masaoka argued that duress and confusion led many young Nisei to vote, and that general legislation is preferable to costly court actions.
• Mrs. Delegate Wins Presidency of Santa Barbara JACL, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Lillian Nakaji, known as Mrs. Delegate from the 1950 national JACL convention, was installed as 1951 president of the Santa Barbara JACL chapter. Retiring president Tad Kanetomo was honored with a desk clock.
• Army Division Hails Heroism Of Nisei Soldier, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Corp. John Seiji Akiyama of Los Angeles was praised by the First Cavalry Division for leadership and courage near Waegun in Korea. He devised a flanking maneuver under heavy fire that allowed his platoon to take a key enemy position.
• Four Nisei Drafted, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Four Nisei were among 130 King County men who reported for army induction in Seattle last week. They were James Tamura, Tommy T. Deguchi, Hideo Fujishima, and Tetsuo Takeda.
• Wounded Nisei Officer Tells Of Escape from Korea Enemy, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Lieut. Kenneth S. Hino, a Hawaii-born platoon leader of the 5th Regimental Combat Team, was wounded and lay hidden for 20 hours after an ambush near Chinju. He was rescued by UN forces and later received the Purple Heart.

Arts & Entertainment

• Yuriko Dances Eliza Role In New Musical, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Yuriko Amemiya will have the central dance role of Eliza in a Siamese version of Uncle Tom’s Cabin within Rogers and Hammerstein’s The King and I. The musical is set to open in New Haven in late February before moving to Boston and New York.
• Sueo Serisawa’s Painting Bought by N.Y. Museum, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Los Angeles artist Sueo Serisawa’s painting Puppet and Child was purchased by the Metropolitan Museum of New York for $1,000. It was one of only seven of 307 works selected from more than 7,000 submissions to the museum’s American Painting 1950 exhibition.
• Yashima Will Speak On World Folk Arts, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Painter Taro Yashima will speak on folk arts of all nations at the New York JACL membership meeting on February 23. The meeting is scheduled for the ME church.

Commentary

• Nisei Architect Wins Three Awards for Small Home Plan, by P.C. Staff, page 3. George Matsumoto, a Nisei assistant professor at North Carolina State College, won three awards in a national small-home design contest. His designs earned fourth prize nationally, a regional prize, and a kitchen design award.
• The Walter Naturalization Bill, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial urges passage of the Walter bill, which would remove race as a requirement for naturalization and make Issei eligible for citizenship. It notes that the bill faced obstacles in the Senate last year and that Sen. McCarran has pledged to see naturalization legislation through.
• Racial Projects in Housing, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial criticizes the growing trend of racially exclusive housing developments as a form of deliberate segregation, while acknowledging their improved living conditions. It recommends ordinances banning segregation in public housing and urban redevelopment as more productive remedies.
• Cowboy Stuff, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. Tajiri recounts how cowboy star Bill Boyd arranged segregated lines for a southern personal appearance and reflects on racial prejudice in America. He also discusses wartime professional race-baiting organizations that opposed the return of Japanese Americans to the Pacific coast.
• Prejudice Is a Business, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. Tajiri examines how professional promoters of race hatred, including anti-evacuee groups formed during World War II, profited from prejudice against Japanese Americans. He argues that racial hatred remains a business that should be exposed through disclosure of contributors and stronger civil rights enforcement.
• Los Angeles Comment: Expect U.S. Supreme Court To Rule on Renunciants Case, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The New Japanese American News comment examines the Ninth Circuit ruling on Tule Lake renunciants, focusing on whether minors could validly renounce citizenship. It anticipates a Supreme Court appeal and raises concerns about deportation and statelessness for renunciants.
• A Sign of Progress, by Bill Hosokawa, page 6. Hosokawa notes that National Brotherhood Week reflects real progress in race and religious relations, largely driven by wartime experience in which integrated units fought side by side. He reflects that the progress since the 1942 incarceration shows the cost of that earlier folly.

JACL

• Results Show Importance of JACL Legislative Activity, by Elmer Smith, page 6. Smith reviews the JACL’s efforts following passage of the evacuation claims bill, including administrative conferences and frustrations over claims procedures. He also describes the JACL’s successful objection to HR 4044, which would have liquidated Issei assets to pay war victims.
• Here Are Facts on Moral Sanction Clause, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The JACL explains that its fifth national bowling tournament requires membership under the American Bowling Congress’s moral sanction clause, which protects Nisei teams in ABC leagues. Similar clauses are used by other fraternal organizations, and several successful JACL tournaments have already been held under it.

Sports

• Announce Two New Perpetual Trophies for JACL Tourney, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Tournament co-chairmen Harley Kusumoto and Dick Fujioka announced new perpetual trophies from H. & F. Produce and W. Fay Produce for the men’s events of the fifth national JACL bowling tournament. Trophies will be awarded at the Awards Dinner Dance on March 18 in Los Angeles.
• Sacramento JACL Tournament Won by San Francisco Team, by Stirling S. Sakamoto, page 6. The Laing Photo team of San Francisco won the Sacramento JACL bowling tournament, held under ABC moral sanction with more than 150 keglers participating. Cash awards and trophies were distributed across team, doubles, singles, and all-events divisions.

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