The Oyama decision and the end of California’s Alien Land law cases

Vol. 26, No. 5, January 31, 1948. 8 pages. View this issue

The Supreme Court’s Oyama decision shaped most of this eight-page issue. California Attorney General Fred Howser announced the state would move to dismiss all pending Alien Land law cases, and A. L. Wirin outlined how that would work. San Diego and San Joaquin counties each weighed their own next steps. Bill Hosokawa called the ruling the biggest single victory for Japanese American rights, and an editorial titled “Alien Land Law: An Obituary” traced the law’s history. Ernest Besig of the ACLU of Northern California urged its repeal.

Also inside: British Columbia’s order to discharge Japanese workers from interior logging, and Rep. Walter H. Judd’s bill on naturalization. JACL chapter news covers installations in Long Beach and Cleveland, plus a national membership goal of 10,000. Koji Ariyoshi recounts discrimination aboard a ship, and Toshi Miyazaki reviews Ruth Benedict’s The Chrysanthemum and the Sword.

What’s in this issue

Community

• British Columbia Authorities Order Immediate Discharge of Japanese in Logging Industry, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The British Columbia provincial government ordered the immediate discharge of all persons of Japanese ancestry from interior logging operations, a move affecting roughly 800 workers. Protests were voiced by the CCF-affiliated union, the Civil Liberties Union, and logging operators.
• Scientific Farmer Raises Disease-free Strawberry Crop, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Ken Ishihara, a Nisei operating a 23-acre strawberry ranch in Ontario, Oregon, produced crops certified as 99.8 per cent disease free during a plague of fungus diseases. Oregon State college representatives who visited the ranch found only four diseased plants out of 2,000.
• Imada Elected JACL Chairman in San Mateo, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Howard Imada was elected chairman of the San Mateo County JACL chapter for 1948 by mail ballot, succeeding Hirosuke Inouye. The chapter is also conducting a $2,000 financial drive under chairman Iwao Takahama.
• Masao Satow Leads Installation of JACL Cabinet, by P.C. Staff, page 2. National JACL secretary Masao Satow installed the 1948 Long Beach JACL cabinet at a dinner dance, with Fred Ikeguchi as president. The cabinet includes vice presidents, secretaries and a delegate.
• Nisei High School Girl Wins Prize in National Contest, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Noriko Chiwaki, a 16-year-old Nisei from Los Angeles, took fourth place in a national high school history contest sponsored by Hearst newspapers. She received a $250 war bond and was the top western finisher.
• National JACL Sets 10,000 as Member Goal, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The National JACL set a 1948 membership goal of 10,000 and planned a drive running February 1 through the end of March. Fifteen thousand membership leaflets titled I’m Joining JACL were prepared at national headquarters.
• Cleveland Cabinet Installed at Inaugural Dinner, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Cleveland JACL chapter held its first inaugural dinner and installed its new cabinet with George Chida as president. Midwest regional representative Tats Kushida, the guest speaker, also met with city officials about the JACL program.
• Spokane JACL Will Aid Polio Drive, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Spokane JACL chapter will sponsor a March of Dimes dance on February 1 at the Balen club. Proceeds will go to the polio drive, with entertainment by local groups.
• Capital Attorneys Comment on Decision in Oyama Case, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Attorneys in Washington said the Supreme Court’s Oyama decision means California cannot rely on presumption of intent to evade the Alien Land law. The decision may limit future filings to cases with direct evidence.
• Wirin Plans Trip to Japan as Private Counsel for Nisei Seeking Repatriation to U.S., by Tosuke Yamasaki, page 3. A. L. Wirin applied for a passport to visit Japan as private counsel for parents and relatives of Nisei strandees who lost U.S. citizenship. The JACL said it would cooperate but would not aid individuals in returning except under meritorious circumstances.
• Washington Nisei Told 1948 Is Year of Decision for Nation, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Sam Ishikawa, eastern states director of the JACL ADC, reported strong support for Nisei legislative objectives from Kentucky leaders, including newspapers and civic figures. At a Washington chapter installation dinner, he urged members to make 1948 a year of accomplishment.
• Strategy Meeting Held by ADC Officials in Washington, by P.C. Staff, page 7. JACL ADC leaders Mike Masaoka, Tats Kushida, Sam Ishikawa and Robert Cullum met in Washington to plan strategy for JACL-sponsored legislation. Ishikawa and Kushida reported on their regional campaigns to build congressional and public support.
• Stockton JACL Sets Annual Meeting, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The Stockton JACL will hold its annual meeting February 3 to elect eighteen directors and set policy for the coming year. Ballots were mailed to more than 250 members, with a goal of 800 to 1000 eligible voters.

Obituaries

• Dr. Aurelia Reinhardt Succumbs to Long Illness in Palo Alto, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Dr. Aurelia Reinhardt, president emeritus of Mills College and a nationally known educator, died in Palo Alto at the home of her son. She was long active in humanitarian and educational causes, including the Institute of Pacific Relations and the West Coast Committee on American Principles and Fair Play.

National

• Three Nisei Convicted by Tokyo Tribunal in Dance Hall Stabbing, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A U.S. provost marshal’s court in Tokyo convicted three Japanese American former army members of manslaughter in a July stabbing death outside a dance hall, sentencing Kiyoto Nakamura to five years and two others to three years each. Five other Nisei defendants were acquitted, and the verdict is subject to review by the commanding general.
• San Joaquin County Considers Stand in Alien Land Law Issue, by P.C. Staff, page 1. San Joaquin County Attorney Fred Felton said the county would proceed with five pending escheat cases against persons of Japanese ancestry until directed otherwise by the State Department of Justice. The cases involve more than $100,000 in agricultural property.
• Judge Grants Postponement in Kawakita Trial, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Federal Judge William C. Mathes postponed the treason trial of Tomoya Kawakita until May 11 so his lawyers could obtain depositions from Japan on his citizenship status. Kawakita is charged with the deaths of American soldiers while serving at the Oeyama prison camp.
• Rep. Judd Introduces Third Bill on Naturalization Law, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Representative Walter H. Judd introduced H.R. 5004, a third bill to extend naturalization and immigration privileges to persons now ineligible for citizenship, according to the JACL Anti-Discrimination Committee’s Washington office. The measure aims to repeal racial restrictions from American nationality and immigration statutes.
• California Drops Alien Land Law Cases, by P.C. Staff, page 1. California Attorney General Fred Howser announced the state will move to dismiss all pending Alien Land law cases following the Supreme Court’s Oyama decision, stating little of the law remains. Howser’s letter to A. L. Wirin of the JACL said the state could not meet the burden of proof required to continue prosecutions.
• Wirin Outlines Possible State Procedure in Dismissing All Pending Alien Land Law Cases, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A. L. Wirin described how the State of California would dismiss pending Alien Land law cases, including motions filed in the Enomoto, Fukuhara and Sakamoto cases. He also expected reversal of judgments on appeal and an end to new escheat filings.
• House Passes Private Bills to Grant Permanent Stay to Three Japanese Nationals, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The House of Representatives passed private bills allowing three Japanese aliens facing deportation to remain permanently in the United States. The beneficiaries include Sgt. Tsuyoshi Matsumoto, Hayato Harris Ozawa, and Mrs. Mitsu M. Kobayashi, each with family ties to American citizens or servicemen.
• San Diego Will Hold Up Action on Land Cases, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Following the Supreme Court’s Oyama decision, San Diego county authorities halted action on all escheat cases. Deputy District Attorney Duane Carnes said at least three other cases in the county were being contested.
• Twelve Men and True, by P.C. Staff, page 2. An all-Negro jury in Merced, California, returned a verdict in a case, the first such jury in national history. The Professional Golfers association also faced criticism after denying entry to three Negro golfers at a Richmond tournament.
• Civil Liberties Union Director Besig to Urge Repeal of Alien Land Law, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Ernest Besig of the ACLU of Northern California said the Alien Land law should be repealed at the next legislative session and commended Attorney General Howser for dropping pending cases. He raised further questions about property rights left unresolved by the Oyama decision.

Commentary

• Takahashi Case, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial notes that Torao Takahashi’s counsel appealed to the Supreme Court against the California anti-alien fishing law, which bars ineligible aliens from commercial fishing licenses. A ruling could clarify whether state laws restricting aliens on ineligibility grounds violate equal protection.
• Democratic Solution, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial praises a new community conservation agreement, announced in Chicago, that replaces racially restrictive covenants with property maintenance standards. It notes the first trial in Chicago’s Oakland-Kenwood district where twenty covenant cases will be abandoned.
• Alien Land Law: An Obituary, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Following the Oyama decision, the Alien Land law’s key presumption of evasion was struck down, leaving the law effectively unenforceable. The article traces the law’s racist origins and history of revival during World War II.
• JACL and the Oyama Case, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Hosokawa reflects on the extensive coverage of the Oyama decision and calls it the biggest single victory for Japanese American rights. He credits the JACL with achieving in under two years what the Japanese government could not in two generations.
• Book Review: An Anthropologist Looks at the Japanese People, by Toshi Miyazaki, page 5. Miyazaki reviews Ruth Benedict’s The Chrysanthemum and the Sword, praising its ambition but finding its patterns too convenient and its treatment of history incomplete. He disputes several of Benedict’s assertions about Japanese behavior and causes of the war.

Military & Veterans

• Nisei Veteran Recalls Discrimination on Ship, by Koji Ariyoshi, page 5. Koji Ariyoshi recounts being required to sign an alien manifest aboard the S.S. Meiggs in 1946 despite being a discharged veteran and State Department employee. He reflects on the injustice and the need for continued civil rights struggle.
• Maruo Defeated by Ortega in Honolulu Bout, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Tsuneshi Maruo, a Honolulu Nisei boxer and 442nd veteran, lost a 10-round decision to Manuel Ortega of El Paso in a bruising bout. Maruo had been considered a possible opponent for world bantamweight champion Manuel Ortiz.

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