Ending race bans in naturalization law, April 1947

Vol. 24, No. 13, April 5, 1947. 8 pages. View this issue

The push to remove race restrictions from the naturalization law led the issue. A newly organized Committee for Equality in Naturalization brought together California civic leaders, educators and church figures behind the JACL-ADC legislative program, and the Territorial Senate of Hawaii backed Delegate Joseph Farrington’s bill. A column by John Kitasako reported Mike Masaoka’s worry that Nisei had not rallied behind that program, and Masaoka was invited to submit a memorandum to President Truman’s Committee on Civil Rights.

Elsewhere, the Ninth Circuit upheld Gen. DeWitt’s individual exclusion orders, and an editorial explained why that ruling did not validate the mass incarceration. News from the former camps covered Minidoka barracks sold at auction and the clearing of Tule Lake. Columns by Larry Tajiri, Bill Hosokawa and Sue Kunitomi, who remembered Grace Hanna of Madison, Wisconsin, fill the middle pages.

What’s in this issue

National

• California Citizens Back Anti-Discrimination Committee’s Program to End Race Bans in Naturalization Law, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Prominent Californians have joined the newly organized Committee for Equality in Naturalization to support the JACL-ADC’s legislative push to remove race restrictions from the naturalization law. The committee includes civic leaders, educators, former officials, and church figures from across the state.
• Hawaiian Senate Backs Passage of Farrington Bill to End Racial Bars on Naturalization, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Territorial Senate of Hawaii passed a resolution supporting Delegate Joseph Farrington’s bill in Congress to remove racial naturalization bars. The resolution called the existing law outmoded because it denies citizenship to resident aliens of several Asian and Pacific ancestries.
• U.S. Supreme Court Decision on Appeal Filed in Alien Land Law Test Case, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Supreme Court was expected to decide whether to accept the Oyama Alien Land law test case, which challenges California’s law on behalf of Japanese American citizens. The article outlines the legal representation and the amicus briefs filed by civil liberties groups.
• Consular Officials Caution Nisei in Japan on Elections, by P.C. Staff, page 1. American consular officials in Yokohama warned about 15,000 American-born Japanese Americans in Japan that voting in Japanese elections could cost them their U.S. citizenship. More than 10,000 Nisei stranded by the war have applied for permission to return to America.
• Sen. Tsukiyama Hailed as Hero for Sea Rescue of Legislator, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Hawaii Territorial Senate declared Sen. Wilfred C. Tsukiyama a hero for rescuing Sen. Eusebio Capellas from rough surf off Kahoolawe, despite his objections. The resolution also made him captain of the senate’s life guard.
• Bill to Extend Citizenship to Issei Parents of Nisei GIs Introduced in Congress, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Representative Philip Philbin introduced H.R. 2112, which would allow naturalization without the usual requirements for non-citizen parents of American veterans. Unlike earlier Republican bills, it does not exclude persons of Japanese ancestry.
• Masaoka Invited to Submit Report on Problems of Nisei to President’s Civil Rights Committee, by P.C. Staff, page 8. JACL-ADC national legislative director Mike Masaoka was invited to submit a memorandum on the problems of persons of Japanese ancestry to President Truman’s Committee on Civil Rights. Discussion topics included an evacuation claims commission, naturalization, repeal of alien land laws, and economic opportunity.

Military & Veterans

• Nisei War Veterans May File Claims for Travel Benefits, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Japanese American veterans who did not receive full travel allowances at induction may now file claims for the unpaid portion with the General Accounting Office. The ADC notes several similar claims have already been paid, establishing a precedent.
• Recruit Northwest Nisei for Occupation, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Lt. Paul Sakai and T/Sgt. Spady Koyama of the Military Intelligence Service Language School arrived in Seattle to recruit northwest men for MISLS. They planned recruiting stops in Seattle-Tacoma and Spokane through late April.
• Robert’s Story: Continued Narrative of Nisei Soldiers at Anzio, by P.C. Staff, page 2. A serialized first-person account describes life for a Nisei infantry squad at Anzio, including quarters in a shelled Italian house, daily routines, and the soldiers’ longing for letters from home. The installment covers their conversations about girls and home life during lulls in the fighting.
• Mike Masaoka Is Concerned Over Nisei Political Apathy, by John Kitasako, page 5. Masaoka is frustrated that Nisei have been indifferent to pending legislation such as the naturalization and evacuation claims bills. He stresses that personal letters to Congress from Nisei carry weight and that Caucasian supporters have been more responsive.
• Wartime Dream Comes True for Nisei Baseball Player, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Seattle Post-Intelligencer sports editor Royal Brougham reported that Hiromu Heyamoto, a 442nd infantryman, is now playing shortstop for the University of Washington baseball team. His lieutenant had recommended him to the coach while they were in Italy.
• Officer Reports Japan Duty as Gen. MacArthur’s Interpreter, by P.C. Staff, page 8. First Lt. Shiro Omata, a former personal translator for Gen. MacArthur, recalled his experiences in Japan and reenlisted for further occupation duty. He said Nisei linguists have opportunities to build contacts that will matter as Japan’s economy rebuilds.

Incarceration & Redress

• Ask Continued Operation of Winona Evacuee Project, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Residents of the Winona federal housing trailer camp, the last major remnant of wartime evacuation, petitioned the FPHA to keep the project open past its June 30 closing date. Community groups including the JACL met with local officials, who said the agency lacked funds to relocate the trailers.
• Circuit Court Upholds DeWitt Exclusion Order, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Gen. DeWitt’s individual exclusion program for civilians from the West Coast, reversing a lower court verdict in the Wilcox case. The decision does not address the mass evacuation of persons of Japanese ancestry.

Community

• House Group Approves Bills for GI Wives of Japanese Ancestry, by P.C. Staff, page 2. A House subcommittee unanimously approved two private bills allowing Japanese-born wives of American servicemen to enter the U.S. permanently under the Soldier Brides Act. The bills will now go to the full Judiciary Committee.
• Oakland JACL Chapter Praised by Red Cross for Nisei-Issei Aid in Drive, by P.C. Staff, page 2. A joint Issei-Nisei committee of the Oakland JACL chapter was commended by the Red Cross for completing its Red Cross drive participation in record time. The chapter’s membership drive also reached 105 members with a 200-member goal expected by campaign’s end.
• Minidoka Barracks Sold to Farmers, by P.C. Staff, page 2. One hundred barracks, a mess hall, seven bath houses, and three warehouses from the former Minidoka relocation center were sold at a government auction in Hunt, Idaho. Farmers and other groups were given priority for the buildings.
• Tule Lake Relocation Camp Shows Signs of Evacuees Remain, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Hundreds of buildings at the former Tule Lake relocation center are being moved or dismantled as the deserted camp is cleared. Barracks are being distributed to farmers and permanent structures allocated to local schools, churches, and organizations.
• Initiate Study of Japanese Group in Utah, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The University of Utah announced a grant-funded historical and ethnological study of persons of Japanese ancestry in Utah, led by anthropology professor Elmer R. Smith. The project will examine the group’s impact on the state’s economy and culture.

Arts & Entertainment

• Notes From Prewar Columns, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. Tajiri revisits his prewar columns from New York, recalling the normalcy of Nisei life before Pearl Harbor and the early warning signs of tension. He also notes Nisei achievements in art, dance, and theater and an early 1940 report on uranium research.

Commentary

• Individual Exclusions, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial explains that the Ninth Circuit ruling on DeWitt’s individual exclusions does not validate mass evacuation, which was based on racial ancestry alone. It argues that Justice Murphy’s dissent in Korematsu may one day become the majority view.
• Housing Restrictions, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial condemns an attempt to evict the Utsumi family from their Oakland home under a racially restrictive covenant. It argues such covenants are intolerable in an age of talk about One World.
• Fighting Minister, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial profiles Rev. W. Sherman Burgoyne of Hood River, Oregon, who defended evacuees against local hostility and the American Legion. He is receiving a Thomas Jefferson award for his work in promoting democracy.
• The Right to Vote, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial criticizes a British Columbia legislative committee’s recommendation to extend voting rights to Chinese and East Indian Canadians while continuing to deny them to Japanese Canadians. It calls the racist exclusion indefensible under democratic principles.
• Nisei Political Apathy Concerns Mike Masaoka, by John Kitasako, page 5. ADC legislative director Mike Masaoka expressed frustration that Nisei have not rallied behind the organization’s legislative program. He urged Nisei to write personal letters to Congress and to acknowledge congressmen who introduce bills on their behalf.
• Suddenly It’s Spring and Picnic Time, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Hosokawa describes a March picnic in the Colorado mountains interrupted by a snowstorm. He also reflects on the parallels between the proposed Communist purge and the wartime evacuation of Japanese Americans.
• Washington Vagaries, by P.C. Staff, page 5. A column of brief notes covering Nisei passengers’ complaints about immigration processing at San Francisco, baseball prospects, Nisei career women, and sports figures. It also mentions a Nisei umpire candidate and a planned Nisei memorial.
• From the Frying Pan, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Hosokawa writes about spring weather in Denver and reflects on Nisei basketball history, praising Wat Misaka of Utah. He also muses on spring cleaning and the dearth of Nisei newspapermen.

Obituaries

• For Us Who Have Known Her—Grace Hanna Will Never Die, by Sue Kunitomi, page 5. Kunitomi remembers Grace Hanna, a Madison, Wisconsin woman who welcomed and supported Nisei resettlers and servicemen in her home for three years. Hanna’s courage, compassion, and established scholarship fund for Japanese American students are recalled.

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