Soya sauce poisoning claims and the fight over housing covenants

Vol. 25, No. 5, August 9, 1947. 8 pages. View this issue

Consumers sickened by soya bean sauce were the lead story of this 8-page issue. A representative of the A. E. Staley Manufacturing Company was due in Los Angeles to help process claims, with more than 800 people in three western states reported ill. Attorney Kenji Ito said a number of suits were being filed. Two veterans, Tom D. Amer and Yin Kim, took restrictive housing covenants to the California Supreme Court. The JACL Anti-Discrimination Committee won word that deportation proceedings would be halted while the Senate weighed H.R. 3566.

Columns include Larry Tajiri on the Native Sons of the Golden West and Bill Hosokawa on a day out with his young son. Hisaye Yamamoto reviews Milton Mayer’s pamphlet These Few. Esther L’Ecluse profiles Mike Masaoka’s lobbying for the ADC. Editorials cover the Mendota strike and 297 Japanese Peruvians held in the United States. The 442nd Infantry Regiment was reactivated in Hawaii.

What’s in this issue

Community

• Staley Company Faces Damage Claims Over Soya Sauce Poisoning, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A representative of the A. E. Staley Manufacturing Company will travel to Los Angeles to help process claims from consumers who fell ill after using soya bean sauce contaminated with an arsenic compound. More than 800 persons in three western states were reportedly made ill by the tainted sauce.
• Bus Passengers Hurt in Crash, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Thirteen passengers, including Hiroshi Nakamura and Mrs. Y. Kubo, were hospitalized after a bus crashed into the Riverdale viaduct south of Ogden, Utah. Nakamura lost five teeth and Kubo suffered a jaw injury.
• Nisei War Veteran Held on Murder Charge in Honolulu, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Harry Matsumoto, a Nisei veteran of the 100th Battalion, and two companions face second-degree murder charges in the death of William Baker in a Honolulu hotel room. Police said Baker began the argument by calling Matsumoto a derogatory term.
• Six Nisei Injured in Vacaville Accident, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Six persons were injured when their car blew a tire and overturned on U.S. Highway 40 near Vacaville, Calif. Yoshiko Osada suffered critical head and leg injuries.
• Nisei Veteran Wins Shorthand Medal in Chicago, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Lewis Y. Matsuoka, a Nisei court reporter in Chicago, will receive the Gregg Publishing Company’s Diamond medal for shorthand speed. He is believed to be the first Japanese American to qualify as a court reporter in the country.
• Denver Notables Attend Dinner of Cathay Post 185, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Mayor Quigg Newton and other Denver leaders attended the annual anniversary and goodwill dinner of Cathay Post 185 of the American Legion. Speakers included editors, a radio manager, and JACL Denver president George Masunaga.
• Hunt to Coney Island, by P.C. Staff, page 5. A visitor describes Coney Island in New York as comparable to Ocean Park or Venice in California, noting the cheap subway fare and the prevalence of Japanese operators running fortune-telling bird booths and novelty concessions. The writer also notes that trade with Japan may soon revive the novelty merchandise business.
• IDC Holds Special Meeting in Salt Lake on August 18, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The Intermountain District Council of the JACL will hold a special meeting August 18 in Salt Lake City, with Mike Masaoka reporting on the Anti-Discrimination Committee. Delegates will also discuss the fall convention planned for Idaho Falls and IDC finances.
• Sequoia Retreat Contributes to Japan Relief Work, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The Lake Sequoia retreat collected funds to purchase clothing, food and supplies for missionary Bertha Starkey to distribute to needy persons in Japan. The conference was attended by 128 young people from central and southern California.
• San Juan JACL Aids in Drive for ADC Funds, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The revived San Benito County JACL chapter stepped up its local fundraising drive, reaching $688 for the Anti-Discrimination Committee from the San Juan Bautista and Hollister district. Caucasian friends also contributed in support of the naturalization program.
• Chicago JACL Will Hold Outing at Tremont Sand Dunes, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The Chicago JACL chapter will hold its August outing at the Tremont Sand Dunes in Indiana on Sunday, August 17. A chartered bus will be available for members needing transportation.
• Neighborhood Group Continues to Fight for Minorities, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The Education for Democracy neighborhood organization in West Los Angeles, formed during a campaign to help a Japanese American family keep their home, continues to protect civil rights of minority citizens. It opposes racially restrictive covenants.

Military & Veterans

• Turlock Issei Get Army’s Permission to Return to Japan, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Aged Issei Mr. and Mrs. Kisuke Yotsuya of Turlock, Calif., received Allied authorities’ permission to return to Japan. They are scheduled to sail on October 8 for Yokohama aboard the Marine Adder.
• Nisei Ensign Stationed at San Diego Base, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Ensign Nelson Kobayashi of Brighton, Colo., one of the first Americans of Japanese ancestry accepted for Navy duty, is stationed in San Diego. His acceptance came after the Navy opened service to Japanese Americans in 1945.
• 21 Nisei GIs Graduate from Military Intelligence School, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Twenty-one Nisei linguists graduated from the Military Intelligence Service Language School at the Presidio of Monterey after nine months of training. The graduates will serve as translators and interpreters in Japan.
• Three Nisei GIs Will Bring Canadian Brides Into U.S., by P.C. Staff, page 8. Three Nisei veterans married Canadian women of Japanese ancestry and were unable to bring them into the United States until the GI Brides Act was amended. The amendment allowed entry of racially inadmissible wives of American servicemen.
• Japanese American Officers Assigned to Reactivated 442nd Infantry Regiment, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Japanese American officers have been assigned to the reactivated 442nd Infantry Regiment at Fort Shafter, Hawaii, with Major Mitsuyoshi Fukuda in command of the 100th Battalion. The 442nd and 100th were chosen for reactivation because of their combat record in Italy and France.

National

• Deportation Halted Until Senate Considers Pending Bill, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Immigration and Naturalization Service assured the JACL Anti-Discrimination Committee that deportation proceedings against aliens who would benefit from H.R. 3566 will be halted until the Senate fully considers the bill. The bill would give the Attorney General discretion to stay deportation of ineligible aliens, affecting roughly 2000 persons of Japanese ancestry.
• 1,500 Evacuated from Hawaii During War May File Claims, by P.C. Staff, page 1. An estimated 1,500 Hawaiian residents of Japanese ancestry evacuated to mainland war relocation centers may be eligible to file claims under proposed Evacuation Claims Commission legislation. Eligibility depends on whether they sustained business or property damages from the evacuation.
• JACL Official Finds Racial Issue Not Involved in Dispute at Ensher Ranch in Mendota, by P.C. Staff, page 1. JACL Northern California regional director Joe Grant Masaoka said race was not an issue in a labor dispute at the Ensher, Alexander and Barsoom ranch involving about 50 Japanese American workers. Federal conciliator Jules Medoff confirmed that the dispute centered on an alleged union contract rather than race.
• U.S. Files Suit to Seize Soya Bean Sauce, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Federal government moved to seize 26 cases of adulterated Homare brand soya bean sauce held by the Mitsuwa company in Sacramento. The complaint alleges the sauce contains monochloracetic acid, a poisonous substance.
• CIO Official Denies Race Bias in Union Strike at Mendota Farm, by P.C. Staff, page 1. CIO regional director Jack Montgomery denied that a strike at the Mendota packing sheds was provoked by the hiring of 50 Japanese Americans. He accused employer H. E. Ensher of manufacturing a phony racial issue to avoid honoring a union hiring contract.
• Oriental American Veterans File Court Suits Against Restrictive Housing Covenants, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Two Oriental American World War II veterans, Tom D. Amer and Yin Kim, petitioned the California Supreme Court to challenge racially restrictive housing covenants as violating the Fourteenth Amendment. Their attorneys include A. L. Wirin, Fred Okrand and Loren Miller.
• Rose Hirata McMahon Finds Self a Girl Without Country, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Rose Hirata McMahon, a Tule Lake Nisei who married an American ex-Marine in Tokyo, faces immigration obstacles preventing her from joining him in the United States. Confusion over her citizenship status and the registration of her Buddhist wedding has kept the couple apart.
• Hito Okada Tells of Nisei Bills in Last Congress, by P.C. Staff, page 2. JACL president Hito Okada discussed Congressional action on bills affecting persons of Japanese ancestry in a KALL radio forum. He lauded the soldiers’ brides amendment and the evacuee claims bill while noting the past session accomplished little overall.
• Nisei Seeks to Regain Property Escheated Under Alien Land Act, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Yamao Nishizu, a young American of Japanese ancestry, filed suit in Superior Court to recover a San Fernando Valley lot the state escheated under the Alien Land law. The state argues Nishizu’s alien parents held an interest in the purchase.
• Federal Official Assures ADC Loyalty Investigation Will Not Discriminate Against Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Civil Service Commission chairman Lawrence Meloy assured JACL Anti-Discrimination Committee legislative director Mike Masaoka that Nisei employees under the loyalty check would receive fair treatment and a right of appeal. Masaoka urged caution to prevent a witch hunt against Nisei.
• New York Church Group Asks Senate to Repay Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A resolution from the Men’s Class of the Riverside Church in New York urged passage of the Evacuation Claims Commission bill to repay evacuees of Japanese ancestry for losses sustained in 1942. The group urged members of Congress to support the legislation.
• Attorney Asks U.S. Withhold Loan Until Peru Will Permit Return of 297 Internees, by P.C. Staff, page 3. San Francisco attorney Wayne M. Collins asked the Federal Export-Import Bank to delay a multi-million dollar loan to Peru until the Peruvian government agrees to repatriate 297 Japanese Peruvians interned in the United States. He argued they were seized and held for base economic motives.
• Wesley Oyama Among Traders Going to Japan, by P.C. Staff, page 3. San Francisco businessman Wesley K. Oyama is part of the first group of Americans permitted to resume private trade with Japanese firms. He will represent the Modern Food Products company.

JACL

• Committee Will Pick Outstanding Nisei of Year, by P.C. Staff, page 1. JACL president Hito Okada announced a national recognitions committee chaired by Min Yasui to select persons of Japanese ancestry who have made notable contributions. The committee will honor achievements across various fields.
• Fred Fertig Named Executive Secretary of Los Angeles JACL, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Fred Fertig, known for interracial activities in Los Angeles, was named executive secretary of the Los Angeles JACL chapter. He will meet with the cabinet and executive committee on August 12 to outline the chapter’s program for the coming year.
• Program of JACL-ADC to Be Discussed at Salt Lake Meet, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The JACL national staff meeting in Salt Lake City, August 13 to 17, will open with discussions of the Anti-Discrimination Committee and its finances. The agenda also covers JACL organization, Issei relationships, the Pacific Citizen, and the 1948 national convention.

Arts & Entertainment

• Bradford Smith Says Nisei Have Discovered America as Result of Wartime Relocation, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Author Bradford Smith describes in The American Magazine how some 12,000 Nisei relocated to Chicago, finding factory and professional work and more open residential options than on the West Coast. He notes that housing remains the main challenge and that Chicago’s Nisei are widely dispersed rather than concentrated in a Little Tokyo.
• A Lobby for Justice: Masaoka Carries on Campaign of Education on Issues, by Esther L’Ecluse, page 5. The Anti-Discrimination Committee achieved a strong lobbying record by educating congressmen rather than applying pressure, and Mike Masaoka’s personal relationships with key legislators helped secure favorable rules for bills affecting Japanese Americans. Masaoka hopes the approach will succeed in the next session.

Sports

• Nisei Natators Will Bid for Olympic Posts, by P.C. Staff, page 2. A group of Hawaiian Nisei swimmers, coached by Soichi Sakamoto, showed well at the National AAU men’s swimming championships in Tyler, Texas. Several are expected to compete for berths on the 1948 U.S. Olympic team.
• Wasa Hits Homer as Hawaiians Beat Flint All-Stars, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Jimmy Wasa, a Nisei second baseman for the All-Hawaii Stars, hit a seventh-inning home run as the Hawaiians defeated the Flint All-Stars 5-4 in Michigan. It was the second win in five starts for the touring team.
• Speedster, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Robert Watanabe, a Nisei soldier from Sanger, Calif., won the U.S. Army’s Far Eastern 100-meter championship in Tokyo in 10.5 seconds. The time is probably the fastest recorded by a Japanese American.
• Yonamine, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Hawaiian Nisei Wally Yonamine appears headed for a second-team berth with the San Francisco Forty-Niners based on his left-handed passing, punting and placekicking. Coach Buck Shaw has been incorporating him into new plays.
• Sad Sam, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Manager Sam Ichinose sent Honolulu’s Dado Marino against Peter Kane in Manchester, England, in a bout that could determine Marino’s claim to the flyweight title. Ichinose also manages several top Nisei fighters from Hawaii.

Incarceration & Redress

• Ota Loses Case for Residue of Wife’s Estate, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Setsuzo Ota, a former professional wrestler, was denied a share of the remaining $19,960 of the estate of his late wife Lucy Banning Ota. Superior Court Judge Newcomb Condee ruled that the Chapman sons held priority claims under their father’s bequest.

Commentary

• Restricted Housing, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial praises two veterans who challenged restrictive housing covenants in the California Supreme Court and warns that such covenants threaten all non-Caucasian Americans. It calls for vigilance as the U.S. Supreme Court considers related cases.
• Japanese Peruvians, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial calls public attention to 297 Japanese Peruvians illegally detained in the United States after Peru refused to take them back. It notes the FBI found them innocent and that their property was confiscated and taken by competitors.
• Mendota Strike, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial notes that an attempt to inject the Jap issue into a Mendota labor dispute failed when both the union and federal conciliator said race was not involved. It recalls how employers and unions historically exploited racial divisions in California agriculture.
• Nisei, by Larry Tajiri, page 5. Larry Tajiri examines the Native Sons of the Golden West and the anti-Japanese leaders who built political careers on agitation, focusing on U.S. Webb. He argues the Native Sons’ influence has waned while their exclusionary attitudes persisted for decades.
• Reflections of a Parent, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Bill Hosokawa reflects on taking his young son Mike to circuses, zoos, auto races and amusement parks, observing the son’s varied reactions. He concludes that children give parents a chance to enjoy boyhood again.
• These Few, by Milton Mayer, by Hisaye Yamamoto, page 6. Hisaye Yamamoto reviews Milton Mayer’s pamphlet urging minorities to fight first for the rights of other minorities and all men before their own. She summarizes his four-part recipe for minority conduct and his acknowledgment that its chance of success is small.
• Social Equality Means Respect, by Harry Honda, page 7. Harry Honda writes a letter to the editor arguing that social equality means basic courtesies and respect rather than indiscriminate intimate association. He grounds his argument in Catholic teaching on the dignity and unity of the human race.

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