April 1947: Issei naturalization, evacuee claims and anti-discrimination law

Vol. 24, No. 16, April 26, 1947. 8 pages. View this issue

Legislation affecting Japanese Americans filled this eight-page issue. Mike Masaoka was named a consultant to President Truman’s civil rights committee, and he and Rev. W. Sherman Burgoyne testified before a House subcommittee for a bill to remove race discrimination from deportation law. The JACL Anti-Discrimination Committee sent the president’s committee an 18-page statement, northern California JACL delegates planned a campaign against money for Alien Land law prosecutions, and the Chicago City Club backed Issei naturalization and evacuee claims. Larry Tajiri compared the political climate of 1942 and 1943 with the calmer postwar mood in Washington.

Elsewhere, Bill Hosokawa wrote about Nisei students at an Intermountain college conference, and Roku Suschare described life in New York. A serialized chapter of Go for Broke follows the 100th Battalion, and a Canadian story covers the looting of Japanese Canadian property. Chapter news comes from Denver, Oakland, Spokane and Chicago.

What’s in this issue

Community

• Chicago City Club Supports Evacuee Bill, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Chicago City Club passed a resolution supporting Issei naturalization and evacuee claims legislation after a talk by Tats Kushida. The resolution urged an end to national-origin discrimination in federal and state law.
• Cortez Issei Group Seeks First Papers, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Issei members of twenty-seven families in the Cortez area filed for first papers toward United States citizenship. The report came from Ichiki Motoki of the Civil Rights Defense Union.
• Denver JACL Holds Benefit Movie, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Denver JACL sponsored a Japanese motion picture showing whose proceeds went to the National JACL’s ADC work in Washington. The chapter thanked the film companies and volunteer ushers.
• Toronto Group Hits Controls on Evacuee Group, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Cooperative Committee on Japanese Canadians argued that government movement restrictions were unnecessary for successful resettlement. It urged opposition to continued restrictions on movement and commercial fishing.
• Sgt. Spady Koyama to Be Honored at JACL Meeting, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Spokane JACL will honor former AVC acting chairman Spady Koyama at its April 28 dinner meeting. Judge Raymond Kelly of the advisory board will speak.
• Memorial Rites Held for 442nd Soldier, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Memorial services were held in Portland for Stanley Oba, who was killed in action while serving with the 442nd Infantry in Italy in 1945. Services were held at the Westworth Methodist church.
• Honolulu Veterans Plan Carnival to Raise Building Fund, by P.C. Staff, page 2. A carnival sponsored by the 442nd Veterans club will be held June 7-14 in Honolulu to raise funds for a proposed $250,000 memorial clubhouse. Proceeds go toward the building fund.
• Taro Yashima’s Books Published in New York, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Artist Taro Yashima published a new book, The Horizon Is Calling, with Henry Holt and Co. The noted Japanese cartoonist and anti-militarist had come to the United States in 1940.
• Greater New York Settlement Disbands, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Greater New York Committee for Japanese Americans dissolved after substantially fulfilling its stop-gap purpose following the WRA office closures. Director Peter Aoki said remaining needs no longer warranted continuation.
• Hood River Minister Continues Crusade Against Anti-Nisei Bias, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Rev. W. Sherman Burgoyne spoke on radio, to congressmen, and at public meetings in Washington about discrimination against Japanese Americans. He pressed for removal of race-based laws and for an evacuation claims commission.
• Sumner Farmers Return to Puyallup Valley, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Japanese American farmers returned to the Puyallup Valley with little trouble, according to a Seattle Times feature. The Puget Sound Vegetable Cooperative in Sumner is struggling to rebuild with only a dozen members.
• Denver YWCA Plays One World Fiesta, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The Denver YWCA will host a One World Fiesta on May 3 with international costumed greeters, performances, and food. Proceeds will raise funds for the YW’s world fellowship program.
• Oakland JACL Hears Utsumi Case Report, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Attorney Tom Rickert reported on the Utsumi restrictive covenant case in east Oakland at the Oakland JACL April meeting. Joe Grant Masaoka also briefed members on state legislative matters.
• Frank Tsukamoto Named President of YMCA Group, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Frank Tsukamoto was elected president of the South Berkeley Y’s Men’s Club, becoming the first Nisei to lead the business and professional men’s group. He is a real estate broker and JACL leader.
• Announce Calendar of Summer Events, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The San Jose United Citizens League announced summer events including a graduation dance, benefit movies, and a skating party. Benefit proceeds will help maintain the Japanese section of Oak Hill cemetery.
• Delegates From Seven Chapters Will Attend Midwest Meeting, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The Midwest JACL district council will convene in Chicago to coordinate chapter support for the ADC national legislative program. Delegates from seven chapters will attend the April meeting.
• Chicago JACL Council Endorses Formation of ADC, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The Chicago Japanese American council unanimously endorsed the formation of a local Anti-Discrimination Committee chapter. The ADC supports legislation for Issei naturalization, an evacuation claims commission, and removal of discriminatory deportation provisions.

National

• Masaoka Named Consultant to President’s Civil Rights Unit, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Mike Masaoka, legislative director of the JACL Anti-Discrimination Committee, was named a consultant to President Truman’s civil rights committee. He was scheduled to meet with the committee on May 1 to discuss problems facing Americans of Japanese ancestry.
• Ask Congress Action to Remove Race Discrimination from Federal Deportation Statutes, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Mike Masaoka and Rev. W. Sherman Burgoyne testified before a House subcommittee in support of H.R. 2933, which removes race discrimination from deportation law. The American Legion and VFW opposed the bill.
• Urge Indemnification for Losses Suffered by Evacuee Group, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A New York convention of the American Federation of International Institutes urged indemnification for Japanese Americans’ losses from the 1942 West Coast evacuation. The convention also opposed racial discrimination in naturalization and immigration law.

Incarceration & Redress

• Outline Vigorous Campaign Against California Bill for Alien Land Law Prosecutions, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Northern California JACL delegates endorsed a campaign against a proposed $200,000 appropriation to prosecute Alien Land law cases. Joe Grant Masaoka argued the fund contradicted voters’ defeat of Proposition 15 and clouded property titles of Americans of Japanese ancestry.
• Property Sale Right at Issue in Court Case in Los Angeles, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Attorney Fred Okrand filed a demurrer on behalf of two defendants in a suit seeking to block a sale of property to a Negro buyer. The demurrer argued no law prevents property sales based on race.
• Settlement Group Disbands in New York, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Greater New York Committee for Japanese Americans was dissolved after substantially fulfilling its purpose of filling gaps left by the closing of WRA offices. Director Peter Aoki said remaining needs no longer justified its continuation.
• JACL Files Suit to Support Case of Japan-Born War Bride, by P.C. Staff, page 4. JACL counsel A. L. Wirin argued in the Ninth Circuit on behalf of Japan-born war bride Helene Emile Bouiss. The JACL also filed a friend-of-court brief arguing the war brides act should be interpreted consistently with the national policy against racial discrimination.
• President’s Civil Rights Group Urged by JACL-ADC to Protect Liberties, Property of Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The JACL Anti-Discrimination Committee submitted an 18-page statement urging Truman’s Civil Rights Committee to strengthen federal civil rights statutes, support evacuation claims and non-racial naturalization bills, and intervene in the Oyama alien land case. The statement also called for re-examination of the constitutionality of the evacuation.
• Looting of Evacuee Property Cited by Canadian Legislator, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Donald Fleming charged in the Canadian House of Commons that the Custodian of Japanese Property neglected to safeguard evacuee holdings, which had been broken into and looted. H. W. Herridge called for a detailed investigation of the custodian’s activities.
• Future Status of Evacuees Discussed in British Columbia, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Speculation grows in British Columbia about whether Japanese Canadians will return to the coast after emergency wartime powers expire May 15. Minister Ian Mackenzie has said he would resign if they were allowed back.

Military & Veterans

• Suyehira Heads Veterans Post in Idaho City, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Henry Suyehira was elected commander of the Emmett, Idaho VFW post, becoming the second Nisei elected to command a VFW post in recent months. A Pacific campaign veteran, he had served overseas with military intelligence for 39 months.
• Alameda Soldier Wins Commission, by P.C. Staff, page 1. T/4 James Haratani of Alameda, a graduate of the Military Intelligence language school, was scheduled to receive a commission as 2nd lieutenant. He was slated for future assignment with occupation forces in Japan.
• Go for Broke: The Story of the 100th Battalion, by P.C. Staff, page 3. In this serialized chapter, members of the 100th Battalion react to a newspaper report of a Nisei veteran being thrown out of a barber shop. They discuss the treatment of their families and their resolve to prove their worth through combat.
• Rev. Burgoyne Testifies on Bills, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Rev. W. Sherman Burgoyne testified before Congress that Japanese Americans deserve fair treatment for their wartime sacrifices. Greek-American groups also testified in support of H.R. 2933.

Commentary

• Quota for Asia Peoples Favored by N.Y. Paper, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The New York Herald Tribune editorialized that there is no sound reason to bar Asian immigrants from the quota system or citizenship. It argued that good will toward Asians is increasingly important to the United States.
• Winona Residents, by P.C. Staff, page 4. An editorial notes that of the Winona trailer camp residents in Burbank, most families lack housing as the lease expires June 30. The editorial argues that the lingering dependence on group security reflects lasting effects of relocation camp life.
• Voices in Opposition, by P.C. Staff, page 4. An editorial describes organized California business opposing a state bill to create a commission against racial prejudice. It argues that growing population diversity makes such measures necessary.
• Anti-Discrimination Laws, by P.C. Staff, page 4. An editorial surveys state fair employment laws in New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts and the growing campaign for similar laws elsewhere. It argues discrimination harms everyone because nearly every citizen belongs to some minority group.
• Changes in Political Climate, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. Tajiri contrasts the tense 1942-43 wartime climate, when racist campaigns sought to disenfranchise Nisei, with the calmer postwar atmosphere in Washington. He recounts the failed Stewart bill and the Dies committee’s smear campaign against evacuees.
• Nisei Vagaries, by Roku Suschare, page 5. A columnist describes the anonymity of life in New York compared with the close-knit Los Angeles community. He also notes Nisei achievements in fashion, radio, and art across the East Coast.
• Nisei Students Still Have Their Problems, by Bill Hosokawa, page 6. Hosokawa reports from a Nisei Intermountain College Conference that students still feel uneasy outside Nisei circles. He argues the discrimination they face is a brittle shell that determined effort can break through.

In-Depth

• The Shigeta Story: Issei Photographer Honored in National Magazine, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Harry K. Shigeta, a Chicago photographer and partner in Shigeta-Wright studios, is profiled in Popular Photography. The article traces his career from his early days in Seattle to his pioneering commercial and pictorial techniques.

Sports

• Nisei Fail to Place in Boston Marathon, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Two Japanese American entrants from Hawaii, Takeo Takushi and Tamanaha, failed to finish the Boston Marathon. Yun Bok Su of Korea won the classic in record time.

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