Dean Acheson honored, and cemetery bias in Chicago, in January 1949

Vol. 28, No. 1, January 8, 1949. 8 pages. View this issue

Dean Acheson, JACL counsel in the Oyama and Takahashi cases before the Supreme Court, received a pair of cloisonne vases from Mike Masaoka, and President Truman named him Secretary of State. Truman also reaffirmed his civil rights program in his message to Congress. Equality in naturalization and immigration was the top item in the JACL Anti-Discrimination Committee’s ten-point legislative program, and three congressmen introduced identical bills on the subject. Chicago’s Commission on Human Relations took up cemeteries that barred burial of Japanese Americans, and columnist Drew Pearson spoke on the issue in a nationwide broadcast.

Other pages carry the burial of T/Sgt. Jimmy Toshio Shimizu of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team at Arlington and the return of remains of 14 Nisei from Europe. Columns by Bill Hosokawa, Taro Sugihara and Ina Sugihara fill page 5. A California Supreme Court ruling for the Yoshimura family on their San Diego farmland, and Sessue Hayakawa’s return to Hollywood, are also inside.

What’s in this issue

Military & Veterans

• Dean Acheson Proud of Role as JACL Counsel in Test Cases, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Former Under-Secretary of State Dean Acheson received a pair of Japanese cloisonne vases from the JACL ADC for his work as counsel in the Oyama and Takahashi cases before the Supreme Court. He said he was honored to be associated with Japanese Americans and praised their wartime record and loyalty.
• Nisei Sergeant Laid to Rest at Arlington, by P.C. Staff, page 2. T/Sgt. Jimmy Toshio Shimizu of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team was buried at Arlington National Cemetery after being killed in the rescue of the Lost Texas Battalion. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star.
• Idaho Community Closes Stores in Tribute to Nisei Brothers, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The town of Emmett, Idaho closed its businesses for an hour to honor Sgt. Max M. Hosoda Jr. and Pvt. Earl Hosoda, Nisei brothers reburied there after their deaths in Europe. Veterans groups conducted the services and pallbearers included former 442nd members.
• Remains of 14 Nisei En Route Home for Permanent Burials, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The remains of 14 Nisei who died in World War II were being returned from Europe to the United States at the request of next of kin. The list identifies each soldier and his family’s home state.
• Tasakas of Washington Enjoy Vacation as Guests of Veterans, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Joe Tasaka and his daughter Mary vacationed in Hawaii as guests of veterans they had hosted at their Washington, D.C. delicatessen during the war. The fund for their trip was started by local veterans in 1947.

National

• Truman Reaffirms Civil Rights Program in Talk to Congress, by P.C. Staff, page 1. President Truman reaffirmed his ten-point Civil Rights program in his State of the Union address to Congress. The program includes equalizing naturalization opportunities and settling Japanese American evacuation claims, with one phase already approved by the previous Congress.
• Reps. Walter, Judd, Miller Introduce Identical Bills for Equality in Naturalization, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Three congressmen introduced identical bills for equality in naturalization and immigration on the opening day of the Eighty-first Congress. The measure matches a bill that passed the previous House subcommittee unanimously.
• Masaokas Register Under Lobbying Act, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Mike and Etsu Masaoka of the JACL Anti-Discrimination Committee re-registered as legislative representatives under the 1946 Lobbying Act. The act requires lobbying organizations to file financial reports with Congress.
• Equality In Naturalization Bill Heads JACL ADC’s Ten-Point National Legislative Program, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The JACL ADC announced a ten-point national legislative program for the Eighty-first Congress, with equality in naturalization and immigration as the top priority. The program is divided into four categories of legislative activity.
• Farrington Asks Extension of GI Brides Law, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Delegate Joseph Farrington introduced a bill extending the Soldier Brides’ Act for one year and removing racial restrictions on spouses of military personnel. JACL ADC said it will support the measure.
• Delegate Farrington Introduces Bills for Statehood, Issei Rights, by Lawrence Nakatsuka, page 4. Delegate Joseph Farrington introduced bills on the opening day of Congress to make Hawaii a state and to make Issei eligible for naturalization. The article reviews the long link between Hawaiian statehood opposition and anti-Japanese sentiment.

Community

• Chicago City Agency Will Fight Race Bias in Burials, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Chicago’s Commission on Human Relations offered help to the city’s Japanese American community in challenging discrimination in cemeteries. JACL and community leaders testified that cemeteries barred burial of persons of Japanese ancestry, including Nisei war veterans.
• Parlier Man Killed in Crossing Crash, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Hikosaburo Okamura, 69, of Parlier died after his car was struck by a Santa Fe train at a crossing near Reedley. He was taken to the Reedley hospital but died several hours later.
• Four Arrested in Chicago for Counterfeiting, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Four men of Japanese ancestry, including two Nisei, were arrested in Chicago by Secret Service agents for possessing counterfeiting equipment. Three of the men had prior prison records in California.
• JACL Distributes Claims Forms at Seattle Meeting, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Seattle JACL chapter distributed evacuation claims forms at a public meeting where attorneys explained Public Law 886. Over 250 persons attended and a question-and-answer period followed.
• Husband, Wife Reunited After Long Separation During War, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Tsuyoshi Matsumoto, a University of Hawaii professor of Japanese, was reunited with his wife, former Japanese ballerina and film star Emiko Nakamura, after eight years apart. She had retired from the stage to join him in Hawaii.
• Army Captain Weds Japanese Girl in California Ceremony, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Army Captain Joseph J. Dagnall married Yoshie Uchida of Kobe, Japan, in Oakland, the first such marriage in California history between a person of Japanese ancestry and a white person after the state Supreme Court struck down the anti-miscegenation law. The ceremony was held at the Oakland Army Base chapel.
• Salt Lake Tells Election Returns, by P.C. Staff, page 3. George Wakashita won the presidency of the Salt Lake JACL chapter in a close three-way mail vote. Other cabinet officers were named to assist him.
• Kirihara Elected Chapter Prexy, by P.C. Staff, page 3. David M. Kirihara was elected president of the Livingston-Merced JACL chapter, and other officers were named. The chapter’s ADC fundraising drive was progressing toward its $1,500 goal.
• First Post-war Picture Bride Married in Los Angeles Rites, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Kikuto Kitajima arrived from Japan and married George J. Fukumoto in Los Angeles, marking the first post-war picture bride marriage. The couple’s romance began when Fukumoto chose her photograph sent by an uncle in Japan.
• Install Officers of Cleveland JACL, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The 1949 officers of the Cleveland JACL chapter were installed by Midwest Regional Representative Tats Kushida at the chapter’s inaugural dinner-dance. The event was held at the Hotel Hollenden.
• Middleton Takes Team Trophy in Bowling Tourney, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The Middleton team won top team honors at a December bowling tournament in Boise against teams from eastern Oregon and Idaho. Individual and doubles winners from several towns were also listed.

Incarceration & Redress

• Drew Pearson Tells of Bias in Chicago Area Cemeteries, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Columnist Drew Pearson criticized Chicago’s cemetery discrimination in a nationwide broadcast, citing the refusal to bury returning Nisei 442nd soldiers. The JACL ADC Chicago office had brought the situation to his attention.
• Chicago Agency Fights Burial Discrimination, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Chicago cemetery policies barred burial of Japanese Americans, prompting the city’s Human Relations Commission to meet with JACL and community representatives. Speakers described denied burials of war veterans and the limited Japanese cemetery space at Montrose.
• U.S. District Court Hears Fujizawa’s Attempt to Win Recognition of Citizenship, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Meiji Fujizawa, a Nisei stranded in Japan, had his U.S. citizenship case heard in Los Angeles federal court after serving as an interpreter at a Japanese POW camp. He argued that his renunciation of nationality was not voluntary, and the judge took the case under advisement.
• California Supreme Tribunal Upholds Right of Evacuee Family to San Diego Property, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The California Supreme Court ruled that Thomas Gonzales acted unconscionably when he tried to take advantage of the Yoshimura family’s wartime evacuation to acquire their San Diego farmland. The court reversed the lower court and declared the Yoshimuras the rightful owners upon repayment.

Commentary

• Naturalization Bill in Congress, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial argues that the November elections improved prospects for legislation granting citizenship rights to resident Japanese and other ineligible aliens. It reviews the history of Truman’s civil rights program and the bipartisan support for equality in naturalization.
• The New Secretary of State, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial welcomes Dean Acheson’s appointment as Secretary of State, recalling his role as counsel for the JACL in the Oyama and Takahashi cases. It notes his endorsement of the equality in naturalization proposal and hopes his stewardship will advance lasting peace.
• Faces of the Issei: Ryoji Fujii, by P.C. Staff, page 4. After the war began, Ryoji Fujii, a Los Angeles Issei, worked to counter rumors among evacuees through adult education classes. He later went to Chicago and became editor of the Chicago Shimpo, the city’s only Japanese-language newspaper.
• Random Thoughts While Ushering in ’49, by Taro Sugihara, page 5. The columnist reflects on how New Year’s customs have changed for Manhattan Nisei, from lost week-long holidays to carefully rationed food and subdued parties. He also comments on the struggle of Nisei importers in foreign trade.
• The New Year with Humility, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Hosokawa uses a Denver blizzard to reflect on human powerlessness before nature, then discusses David Bradley’s book on radioactivity from Bikini tests. He closes by praising the Japanese New Year custom of settling debts and starting fresh.
• Picture of a Nisei: New York Radio Station Gives Drama of Japanese American, by Ina Sugihara, page 5. The writer reviews the WMCA radio drama ‘The Strange Journey of Mike Hirada,’ about a Nisei manager who confronts prejudice. She reflects on how the character’s courage should inspire Nisei to act against bigotry.

Sports

• Seattle Oriental Cage Tourney Won by Chinese Americans, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The San Francisco Chinese Saints beat the Berkeley Nisseis 49-45 to win the Seattle Oriental basketball tournament. Wee Willie Wong led the scoring, and Tosh Sano and Johnny Oshida led the Berkeley comeback attempt.

Arts & Entertainment

• Sessue Hayakawa Comes Back to Hollywood for Role in Film, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Silent film star Sessue Hayakawa returned to Hollywood to play a villain in Humphrey Bogart’s film Tokyo Joe. The article notes that several Nisei and Issei actors were also cast in the production.

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