Debate over evacuees’ return to California, June 1944

Vol. 18, No. 21, June 17, 1944. 8 pages. View this issue

Whether Japanese Americans could go home to the West Coast ran through this eight-page issue. On the front page, California Assemblyman Chester Gannon won $1,000 more for his committee on “Japanese problems,” and Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes answered him sharply. Secretary of War Stimson told a congressman that any change in the exclusion order depended on the military situation. A federal judge ruled that Layton, Utah could not deny a business license to grocer Clarence Okuda, and the paper’s editorials followed that case and the question of military necessity. Columns by Larry Tajiri, Bill Hosokawa, Joe Grant Masaoka and Saburo Kido took up related questions.

Elsewhere, Jerome closed as about 1,000 people were moved to Heart Mountain, Gila River and Rohwer. Testimony at the Cheyenne trial of Heart Mountain draft delinquents was reported, and news from the 100th Infantry Battalion and the 442nd Infantry at Camp Shelby filled the military pages. Page 2 carried reports of church, student and radio forum support for the right to return.

What’s in this issue

National

• Gannon Gets Interim Funds for Committee, by P.C. Staff, page 1. California Assemblyman Chester Gannon secured an additional $1,000 for his interim committee on Japanese problems despite sharp debate over returning evacuees. Secretary Ickes criticized Gannon’s position, while Gannon claimed pressure groups were working for the evacuees’ return.
• Federal Court Upholds Right of Japanese Americans to Open Businesses in Utah, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Judge Tillman Johnson permanently enjoined Layton, Utah from denying business licenses to citizens of Japanese descent. The ruling arose from a petition by grocer Clarence Okuda, who had been denied a license because of his ancestry.
• CIO Union Pays Tribute to Nisei Killed in Pacific, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The UCAPAWA convention honored Sgt. Ken Omura of Seattle, a founding member of a local union, who died fighting in the Southwest Pacific. A tribute article by Dyke Miyagawa appeared in the union’s publication.
• Ickes Urges Fair Play for Minorities, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Secretary Ickes and Dr. Frank Aydelotte spoke at a New York banquet honoring Albert Einstein, arguing that intolerance at home undermines the democratic cause abroad. Aydelotte said the treatment of minorities is the final test of any civilization.
• U.S. Socialist Party Demands Right of Japanese Americans to Return to Evacuated Area, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Socialist Party’s 1944 national convention adopted a platform plank demanding full restoration of rights to evacuated Japanese Americans and their return to the West Coast. Delegates, including west coast members, publicly supported the plank.
• Norman Thomas Hits Evacuation of U.S. Citizens, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Socialist presidential candidate Norman Thomas called the mass evacuation of 70,000 Japanese Americans without trial a breach of civil liberties. He cited the Hirabayashi decision as permitting discrimination based on racial prejudice.

Military & Veterans

• War Department Identifies Soldier Wounded in Italy, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The War Department announced that Staff Sgt. Robert K. Oshiro, a Hawaii-born Japanese American, was wounded in recent fighting in Italy. His next of kin is his father in Paauhau, Hawaii.
• Military Situation on Coast Will Determine Any Change in Exclusion Order, Says Stimson, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Secretary of War Stimson told Rep. John Anderson that any relaxation of restrictions on returning persons of Japanese ancestry to the West Coast depends on the military situation. WRA director Dillon Myer added that the decision rests with military authorities.
• Two Soldiers Reported Killed in Italy Battles, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Parents in Hawaii were notified of the deaths of Sgt. Albert Yoshio Nozaki of Waialua and Tech. Sgt. Chuji Saito of Waimanalo, both of the 100th Infantry Battalion. Nozaki was killed April 28 and Saito on April 19 during the Fifth Army’s push toward Rome.
• Nisei Chaplain Returns to Post at Camp Shelby, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Chaplain Aki rejoined the 1st Battalion, 442nd Infantry at Camp Shelby after six weeks with the AJA unit at Camp McClellan. He praised the men’s training and said his priority is their unity and leadership.
• Camp Shelby Troops Donate Civilian Shoes to Needy, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Men of Company A, 1st Battalion, 442nd Infantry collected about fifty pairs of civilian shoes and donated them to the Salvation Army in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Staff Sgt. Alfred Mori organized the collection.
• 100th Infantry Not Asked to Do More Than Other U.S. Units, Declares Ex-Commander, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Lt. Col. Farrant L. Turner, former commander of the 100th Infantry Battalion, told a Honolulu audience that the unit was not used as guinea pigs and suffered casualties equal to other battalions. He praised their fighting spirit and loyalty.

Incarceration & Redress

• Evacuees on Move Again as Jerome Closes, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The WRA announced that about 1,000 Japanese Americans were transferred from the Jerome relocation center in Arkansas to Heart Mountain, Gila River and Rohwer. Jerome is scheduled to close by June 30.
• Report 51 Draft Delinquents Indicate Willingness to Serve If Citizenship Status Cleared, by P.C. Staff, page 2. FBI testimony at the Cheyenne trial of 63 Heart Mountain draft delinquents revealed that 51 had expressed willingness to serve if their constitutional rights were restored. The defense argued the men were deprived of rights when removed from the coast.
• Draft Trial Group Gets New Council, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Judge Symes allowed 14 draft delinquents from Granada to replace court-appointed attorneys with Samuel D. Menin of Denver. Menin waived jury trial and will represent all of them, with trials expected to begin about June 27.
• Right of Evacuees to Return Upheld by Wirin, Bloom on Los Angeles Radio Forum, by P.C. Staff, page 2. On a KNX radio forum, Prof. Leonard Bloom and A.L. Wirin argued that evacuees should be allowed to return, while Legion commander William Haughton and State Senator Jack Tenney opposed it. Bloom noted that only a small fraction of Shinto adherents exist among Japanese Americans.
• Presbyterian Assembly Urges Return of Evacuees as Soon as Military Situation Permits, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Presbyterian General Assembly in Chicago passed resolutions urging loyal evacuees be allowed to return home when military conditions allow and commending the WRA resettlement program. Chaplain E.C. Brink praised the fighting record of Japanese American troops in Italy.
• Group Will Fight Anti-Alien Bill on Colorado Ballot, by P.C. Staff, page 2. A Colorado anti-alien land bill, defeated in the legislature, will appear on the November ballot as an initiative petition. Its supporters, based in Brighton, have organized as the American League.
• Fujii Freed in Phoenix, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A federal judge in Phoenix directed a verdict of not guilty for George S. Fujii, a Poston evacuee charged with sedition for circulating handbills. The only document tied to him was ruled not seditious.
• Colorado City Drops Charges Made Against Nisei C.O. for Inciting Civil Rights Case, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Charges of barratry against conscientious objector George Yamada were dismissed after he protested the segregation of a Negro companion at a Colorado Springs theater. Church and liberal groups had supported his defense.

Community

• Reverend Kikuchi Returns to Poston, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Rev. Kenji Kikuchi returned to Poston from Chicago, where he had served with the United Ministry to Resettlers, to resume church work at Camp No. 3. He was honored at a farewell dinner before leaving Chicago.
• Oberlin Convention Backs Right of Evacuees to Return, by P.C. Staff, page 2. A mock national convention of more than 800 Oberlin students condemned mass evacuation of Japanese Americans and recommended they be allowed to return. The vote on the statement was nearly unanimous.
• Rundquist Speaks to Milwaukee Groups on Evacuee Relocation, by P.C. Staff, page 2. George E. Rundquist, executive secretary of the Committee on Resettlement of Japanese Americans, spoke on relocation to advisory committee members, resettlers, ministers and businessmen during a June visit to Milwaukee.
• Chinese Professor Becomes U.S. Citizen, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Stanley H. Chan, professor of Oriental studies at Loyola University, became the first Chinese person on the Pacific coast to naturalize under the new immigration law passed in December. The article is brief.
• Canadians Will Open Hostel for Relocation, by P.C. Staff, page 2. A $25,000 project will convert a Montreal building into a hostel to aid resettlement of Japanese Canadian evacuees in the Montreal area. The facility will include family apartments and single rooms and is nondenominational.
• Secretary Ickes Praises Employer of Two Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Interior Secretary Harold Ickes commended J.H. Grayson, a Monrovia manufacturer, for employing two Japanese Americans, Smoot Katow and Tomo Ito. Grayson had lost a son at Guadalcanal.
• Students from Hunt to Work on Farms, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Seventy-five students from the Minidoka relocation center were requested by a county extension agent to help thin the sugar beet crop near Pocatello, Idaho.
• Nisei Minister Participates in Race Conference, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Rev. Jitsuo Morikawa, assistant minister of the First Baptist Church of Chicago, took part in the final service of a race relations training conference held by the Church Federation of Greater Chicago.
• Get-together Social Held by Evacuees in Rochester Area, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Young Japanese Americans living in Rochester gathered at the YWCA on June 4 at the invitation of the Committee for Resettlement of Japanese Americans. Guests included local resettlers and committee representatives.
• Nisei Evacuees Want Fair Play in Sleepy Lagoon Case, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Japanese American evacuees at Manzanar signed a petition asking Attorney General Kenny to personally handle the appeal of Mexican American youths convicted in the Sleepy Lagoon case. The Sleepy Lagoon Defense Committee publicized the petition as evidence of interracial solidarity.
• Nisei Track Star Leads School to League Title, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Henry Aihara, a Japanese American evacuee from Poston, helped New Trier High School win the Suburban League track and field championship by winning the high jump and broad jump. He set a league record in the high jump.
• Nisei Pastor Speaks at Milwaukee Churches, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The Rev. Jitsuo Morikawa of Chicago’s First Baptist Church was guest speaker at two Milwaukee churches on June 4. The article is brief.
• WRA Expands Facilities in Chicago Area, by P.C. Staff, page 8. C. Raymond Booth was appointed manager of the WRA’s Chicago district office, and W.W. Tetlow will focus on employment referrals. Employment expansion in suburban and rural areas around Chicago is a priority.

Commentary

• Diminishing Military Necessity, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial argues that Allied advances in the Pacific reduce any military justification for continued exclusion of Japanese Americans from the West Coast. It warns that prolonged restrictions reflect pressure from anti-Oriental and economic interests.
• Okuda Test Case, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial welcomes the federal ruling in Salt Lake City protecting Clarence Okuda’s right to a business license in Layton. It urges similar action regarding Ogden and Salt Lake City and criticizes AFL opposition to Japanese American businesses.
• Larry Smith Carries On, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial criticizes NBC commentator Larry Smith for racist broadcasts against Japanese Americans during his Utah visit for the Fifth War Loan drive. It cites his recycled and discredited claim about Hawaiian Japanese Americans getting naval personnel drunk before Pearl Harbor.
• FEPC’s Future, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial reports that Senate appropriations approved funding for the Fair Employment Practices Committee after House passage, though southern senators vowed to fight it on the floor. It argues the FEPC is essential for minority groups including Japanese Americans.
• Nisei USA: The Failure of Race-Baiting, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. Larry Tajiri argues that California’s recent primaries show racist campaigns against Japanese Americans fail at the polls, citing the defeats of Costello, Tenney, and Bonelli. He highlights Cecil King’s landslide win despite attacks by the Equalizer.
• From the Frying Pan: The World’s Oppressed Look to America, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Hosokawa reflects on the sober American response to D-Day and argues that racial injustice at home, including against Negroes and Japanese Americans, undermines America’s moral leadership abroad. He urges the nation to practice democratic ideals.
• Ann Nisei’s Column: U.S. Working Girl Is Best-Dressed, by Ann Nisei, page 6. Ann Nisei offers summer dressing tips for working women, recommending cool pastel rayons, neat hair, light makeup and careful attention to details. She argues that fastidiousness matters more than budget.
• Joe Grant Masaoka’s Column: War Must Be Fought at Home Against Intolerant Attitudes Toward Racial Minorities, by Joe Grant Masaoka, page 6. Masaoka argues that Americans must confront racial intolerance at home while fighting fascism abroad. He cites the treatment of Jews, Negroes, and Japanese Americans as evidence of hypocrisy.
• Saburo Kido’s Column: Community Attitudes Prove Surprising, by Saburo Kido, page 6. JACL national president Saburo Kido reports that community attitudes in Colorado were better than expected and that funding for the Denver office seems achievable. He discusses JACL’s financial struggles and possible membership reforms.
• League’s Structure May Be Modified, by Saburo Kido, page 6. Kido reflects on the JACL’s decline and recovery and proposes changes such as lowering chapter membership minimums and allowing non-Japanese Americans to join. He notes that the national treasury nearly reached crisis levels in February.
• Tide Turning in Favor of Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The editorial argues that public sentiment is shifting against West Coast agitators seeking permanent exclusion of Japanese Americans. It notes that the Supreme Court has affirmed citizens’ right to travel between states once military necessity ends.
• Americans All, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The Des Moines Tribune editorial rebukes a neighbor who objected to a loyal Japanese American buying a house, noting that many servicemen have written praising Japanese American soldiers. It notes that acquaintance typically dispels suspicion.
• Judge Wolfe Says Majority of Alien Japanese Law-Abiding, Industrious, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Utah Supreme Court Judge James H. Wolfe spoke at a JACL dance honoring nisei graduates, saying most issei were hardworking law-abiding people wrongly suspected after Pearl Harbor. He praised the nisei and the Japanese American battalion in Italy.

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