Vol. 31, No. 3, July 22, 1950. 8 pages. View this issue
Hawaiian statehood led the news. The Senate Interior and Insular Affairs Committee’s majority report endorsed it and answered Senator Butler’s objections on race, citing the war record of the 100th Battalion and 442nd Combat Team. Also on page one, L. H. Gordon reported that the Korean conflict made more money for evacuee claims unlikely, though Mike Masaoka planned to press for it. A Los Angeles coroner’s jury cleared Nisei officer Stanley T. Uno in a shooting, and publishers Ben and Shige Kuroki printed a special flood edition.
Inside are Peter Ohtaki’s profile of Toyohiko Kagawa, Marion Tajiri on trombonist Paul Higaki, and Larry Tajiri’s column on Nisei soldiers in Korea. Elmer R. Smith looked at the JACL’s wartime leadership. Page 6 follows Wally Yonamine’s 100th hit and Ford Konno’s swim meet debut. The Denver Post backed Issei citizenship rights.
What’s in this issue
National
- Committee’s Majority Report Answers Hawaiian Statehood Opponents on Race Question, page 1. The Senate Interior and Insular Affairs Committee’s majority report strongly endorsed Hawaiian statehood and rebutted Senator Butler’s anti-Oriental arguments. The report cited the loyalty of Hawaii’s population and the war record of the 100th Battalion and 442nd Combat Team.
- Korean War Situation Dims Hope for Appropriation of More Funds for Evacuee Claims, by L. H. GORDON, page 1. Congress is unlikely to expand Evacuation Claims Act funding this year due to the costs of the Korean conflict. JACL ADC’s Mike Masaoka will push to raise the administrative and adjudication appropriations anyway, arguing that faster settlement is the only true economy.
- Pass Private Bills to Admit Nippon Aliens, page 1. The House passed and sent to the Senate fourteen private bills admitting Japanese aliens, mostly wives, fiancees, and relatives of veterans and U.S. citizens. The JACL ADC reported the action.
- Urge U.S. to Accept Tardy Claims Filed for Yen Deposits, page 1. JACL regional director Joe Grant Masaoka asked California Democratic chairman Oliver Carter to press the Attorney General to accept 467 northern California yen deposit claims rejected as late. The claims were postmarked by the November 18, 1949 deadline.
- Two Setbacks in Washington for Civil Liberties, page 1. A Senate filibuster blocked cloture on fair employment practices legislation, and a D.C. court ruled restaurants could legally refuse Negro customers. The JACL ADC urged the District to press the restaurant case and called FEP a key national goal.
Incarceration & Redress
- Coroner’s Jury Absolves Nisei Police Officer in Shooting, page 1. A Los Angeles coroner’s jury ruled justifiable homicide in the July 6 shooting of Ivcon Williams by Nisei officer Stanley T. Uno. Uno and his partner testified that Williams drew a pistol after they moved to handcuff him.
Community
- Publisher Kuroki Prints Special Flood Edition, page 1. Publishers Ben and Shige Kuroki and staff of the York Republican printed a 20-page special flood edition after a record 14-inch rainfall flooded their plant and city. The paper came out 24 hours late but was still ahead of what a printer would consider possible.
- Pacific Northwest Chapters Hold District Council Meet, page 1. The Pacific Northwest JACL district council met July 16 with delegates from Spokane, Seattle, Gresham-Troutdale, and Mid-Columbia. Delegates opposed the Russell amendment to the naturalization resolution but supported pushing it forward and planned a 1951 convention in Seattle.
- Nisei Elected Governor of Girls’ State, page 1. Joan Nishimoto, 17, was elected girl governor of Connecticut’s Girls’ State after a seven-day session at the University of Connecticut. Edgar F. Beckham, a Negro youth, was named boy governor.
- Chicago Mayor Invites Hori to Join Committee, page 3. K. Katsy Hori of the United Asia Trading Company was invited by Mayor Martin Kennelly to serve on the hospitality committee for the First United States International Trade Fair in Chicago. Hori is the only Japanese ancestry member of the Chicago Foreign Trade Managers club.
- Korean American Editor Will Speak to Nisei Group, page 3. Peter Hyun, former English editor of the Korean Independent, will speak to the Nisei Progressives in Los Angeles on July 26 about the present situation in Korea. A discussion will follow the talk.
- Eden Township JACL Marks Fourth of July With Flowers, page 4. The Eden Township JACL revived a prewar custom by delivering truckloads of flowers to hospitals in the area and Livermore on the Fourth of July. Members arranged the flowers at Mt. Eden Nursery and distributed them during visiting hours.
In-Depth
- Brotherhood Economics: Toyohiko Kagawa, by By PETER OHTAKI, page 2. This profile traces Toyohiko Kagawa’s journey from a wealthy feudal family to a leader of Japan’s cooperative and labor movements. It explains his rejection of communism and his vision of cooperatives as the basis of world economic brotherhood.
- JACL Helped Nisei Undertake Group Leadership in Wartime, by By ELMER R. SMITH, page 5. This historical article describes how the JACL, in late 1941, engaged with the War Department over dual citizenship legislation and took on leadership roles for the Japanese American community. It explains that Issei community leaders were arrested after Pearl Harbor, leaving the JACL to fill the vacuum.
JACL
- Regional Director Names Delegates to Midcentury Conference, page 2. JACL regional director Joe Grant Masaoka nominated five East Bay Nisei as delegates to the California Midcentury Conference on Children and Youth. The nominees include social workers, a YMCA co-director, a minister, and a past JACL president.
Arts & Entertainment
- Man with a Band: Paul Higaki’s Trombone Hits High Notes for Hampton, by By MARION TAJIRI, page 2. Paul Higaki, the only Nisei in Lionel Hampton’s band, is profiled after the band’s Golden Gate theater engagement in San Francisco. The article covers his camp-era band work, his earlier stints with other bands, and the racial barriers the Hampton band has challenged.
- Denver Post Backs Issei Citizenship Rights, page 7. The Denver Post ran a guest editorial by Dr. K. K. Miyamoto and its own editorial supporting the Walter resolution to allow Japanese aliens to naturalize. Dr. Miyamoto wrote about being barred from the citizenship ceremony he attended solely because of his birthplace.
Military & Veterans
- Nisei Veterans Post Plans Memorial to Valley Nisei, page 3. Nisei Liberty Post 5869 of the VFW in Hanford, California, is raising $5,000 for a war memorial honoring Nisei servicemen from the San Joaquin Valley. The Central California JACL district council endorsed the project and dedication is planned for Memorial Day 1951.
Commentary
- Racism and Sanctimony, page 4. The editorial condemns the California attorney general’s brief in the Masaoka land test case for combining grudging praise of Nisei loyalty with racist assertions about alien land ownership. It notes the Alien Land Law was racially motivated despite its neutral wording and argues the law is nearly dead after the Oyama decision.
- Nisei Week in Review: Report for Pvt. Miyaura, by By LARRY TAJIRI, page 5. Columnist Larry Tajiri reflects on Nisei soldiers serving in the Korean War, including Pfc. Haruo Miyaura pictured in a news photo. He also discusses the domestic mood of mobilization, the threat of renewed Japanese American evacuation rhetoric, and the pending Walter resolution on naturalization.
Sports
- They Commit Larceny on Base Hits, page 6. Salt Lake Bees outfielder Wally Yonamine and Billings centerfielder Eddie Moore robbed each other of hits during the 1950 Pioneer League season. The column recounts Moore’s headfirst catch on a Yonamine liner and Yonamine’s earlier defensive plays.
- Yonamine Becomes First PL Batter To Get 100 Hits, page 6. Wally Yonamine of the Salt Lake Bees became the first Pioneer League batter to reach 100 hits this season in a July 20 game against Billings. Eddie Moore of Billings reached the same mark later in the game.
- 5 Nisei Girls To Enter U.S. Swimming Meet, page 6. A Hawaii Swimming Club team including five Nisei swimmers passed through San Francisco en route to the National AAU women’s outdoor championships in High Point, North Carolina. Evelyn Kawamoto is the defending champion in two events.
- Ford Konno, Hawaii’s Newest Nisei Star, Enters U.S. Meet, page 6. Ford Konno, 16, broke Kiyoshi Nakama’s mile freestyle record in a preliminary heat at the National AAU men’s swimming championships in Seattle. Australian John Marshall of Yale posted a faster time in a separate preliminary.
- Konno Given Chance to Make U.S. All-Star Team for Tour of Japan, page 6. Ford Konno and his Hawaiian teammates arrived in Seattle for the national men’s swimming championships. Konno is expected to duel Yale’s John Marshall and could be picked for a U.S. all-star team touring Japan.
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