The Walter Resolution in conference, and a Japanese statesman honored

Vol. 30, No. 25, June 24, 1950. 8 pages. View this issue

The Walter Resolution was the main business of this eight-page issue. The Senate named Sen. Pat McCarran to head its conference committee and said it would insist on its amended version, which limits naturalization to Japanese who entered before 1924. Mike Masaoka of the JACL ADC hoped the conference would remove those restrictions, and Rep. Walter hoped to broaden the bill. The front page also carried a photo story on Dr. Ozaki’s visit to the Senate, where Vice President Alben Barkley and Sen. H. Alexander Smith were among those who paid tribute to his career.

Elsewhere, Larry Tajiri’s column took up the $1,222,829 Canada agreed to pay for evacuation losses, and Arthur Millier wrote about the painter Sueo Serisawa. Other pages covered Nisei Week plans in Little Tokyo, the Senate’s passage of GI bride bills, and a call for Nisei technicians for the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission.

What’s in this issue

Incarceration & Redress

• Senate Will Insist On Adoption of Own Amended Version of Walter Resolution, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Senate has named Sen. Pat McCarran to head its conference committee on the Walter resolution and will insist on its amended version restricting naturalization to Japanese who entered before 1924. Mike Masaoka of the JACL ADC says he hopes the conference will broaden the resolution to remove those restrictions.
• Masaoka Case May Be Taken to Highest Court, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Joe Grant Masaoka said the Masaoka Alien Land law test case may go to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary. He noted that passage of the Walter resolution would not remove the cloud over Nisei-owned land titles purchased since 1913.

Military & Veterans

• Senate Passes GI Bride Bills, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Senate passed nine private House bills admitting Japanese brides, fiancees and children for permanent residence in the United States. The bills now await the President’s signature.
• Japanese Navy Veteran Regains U.S. Citizenship, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Judge D. E. Metzger restored U.S. citizenship to Kikuo Komura, ruling that his service in the Japanese navy was coerced rather than voluntary. The judge found that influences from police, teachers and relatives amounted to irresistible coercion.
• Army Language School Still Trains Nisei for Occupation, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The Military Intelligence Service Language School at Monterey continues to train Nisei linguists for Far East Command duty. Applicants must have strong Japanese language skills and pass a written test in Japanese.

Community

• Joint Senate-House Group Sets First Conference on Walter Resolution Provisions, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The joint Senate-House conference committee on the Walter resolution may meet early next week, though Senate conferees have not indicated substantial changes. Rep. Walter hopes to broaden the bill to include other ineligible aliens and legally resident Japanese excluded by the Russell amendment.
• Cleveland JACL Co-Sponsors Meet On Fair Employment, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Cleveland chapter JACL is co-sponsoring a citywide panel on June 25 discussing a fair employment practices law. Alice Morihiro and Howard Tashima are members of the committee that arranged the panel.
• Evacuation Claims, Alien Land Law Issues Will Be Considered At Southwest JACL Parley, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The first postwar Pacific Southwest district council convention in Santa Monica on July 1 and 2 will address evacuation claims, political issues and the California alien land law. Four community leaders will be honored at the testimonial dinner.
• Nisei Week Planned Again In Los Angeles, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Preparations for the second postwar Nisei Week festival in Little Tokyo are underway, with proceeds going toward a community center. Downtown businesses have agreed to expand participation to other areas of Los Angeles.
• Recognitions Group Cites Larry Tajiri As Award Nominee, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The National JACL recognitions committee nominated Pacific Citizen editor Larry Tajiri for its leadership awards for his wartime editorship. The citation praised the paper’s effective advocacy for persons of Japanese ancestry.
• YBA Announces Convention Tour To Hawaii, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The YBA Aloha tour will fly 27 delegates to Honolulu on August 15 for the 17th annual territorial Bussei convention in Wahiawa. Mainland delegates will pay their own travel costs while the Hawaii federation covers convention expenses.
• Nisei Buyer Criticizes Quality of Japanese Export Novelties, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A Nisei buyer in New York criticized Japanese export toys and novelties as thin, lacking durability and good color. He said quality must improve before Japanese manufacturers can take advantage of the U.S. market.
• Little Misora Hibari Plans Appearances in United States, by Brownie Furutani, page 8. Japanese child singer Misora Hibari and comedian Haruhisa Kawata performed in Hilo under 100th Battalion auspices before planning a mainland tour. The tour will begin in San Francisco and end with a stop at MGM studios in Hollywood.
• Seek Nisei Technicians for Atom Bomb Casualty Survey, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission is recruiting Nisei medical technicians, physicians, nurses and stenographers for its studies in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Applicants must be U.S. citizens, and Japanese language knowledge is helpful but not required.

National

• JACL Supports Proposal For New Cabinet Agency, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The JACL ADC supports elevating the Federal Security Agency to a cabinet department of Health, Education and Security under Truman’s Reorganization Plan No. 27. Mike Masaoka said the agency serving 150,000,000 Americans deserves cabinet rank.
• Honolulu Official Promises Inquiry Into Charge of Police Brutality Against Negro Group, by Lawrence Nakatsuka, page 3. Honolulu police face allegations of brutality and discrimination from Negro residents of Smith Street, a dispute backed by the Hawaii Civil Liberties Committee. Police Chief Dan Liu has promised an investigation while officers say heavy patrols are needed in the area.

Arts & Entertainment

• Serisawa’s Development as Artist Told by Noted Critic, by Arthur Millier, page 2. Arthur Millier’s article in American Artist magazine traces the development of painter Sueo Serisawa from his prewar success through wartime relocation to New York and his later mature style. The piece is illustrated with examples of his early and later work.

Commentary

• Conscience Money, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. The Canadian government agreed to pay $1,222,829 to 1,800 claimants for evacuation losses, far below the $7 million claimed. The editorial argues the payment is inadequate and excludes theft, damage and forced sales losses.
• Dave Beck’s New Look, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. The column examines Teamsters leader Dave Beck’s wartime anti-Nisei record and his recent denials of it. It contrasts the Teamsters’ past opposition to returning evacuees with the interracial democracy of Los Angeles Local 630.
• Note Growth of Race Relations Groups in California Cities, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Seven new local civic unity groups have formed in California this year, joining the California Federation for Civic Unity. The report notes that the federation now has 60 supporting organizations, including several JACL chapters.
• Between Carbons: These Foolish Things, by Al T. Miyadi, page 5. A Nisei couple buys a home in a white neighborhood, faces a neighborhood petition and court fight, and eventually befriends their neighbors. The neighbors then move out, illustrating the lingering hostility behind the apparent acceptance.

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