Hawaii statehood hearings and the return from camp, January 1946

Vol. 22, No. 3, January 19, 1946. 8 pages. View this issue

Testimony in Hawaii led the issue. FBI official Robert Shivers told a congressional committee that hundreds of Nisei had assisted wartime investigations, and he called rumors about the Pearl Harbor attack false. Other front-page stories covered a continuance for 985 Tule Lake segregees seeking to regain their citizenship, Mike Masaoka’s return to JACL headquarters in Salt Lake City, and General Joseph W. Stilwell’s new post at the Western Defense Command. Bill Hosokawa’s column asked what Stilwell would have done in 1942.

The WRA’s winding down of the incarceration camps ran through the pages: property in warehouses, a February 1 deadline, and relocation offices set to close. Also inside are Alien Land Law cases in Fresno County and San Luis Obispo County, seven Heart Mountain draft resisters, Min Yasui’s admission to the Colorado bar, and Nisei GIs in Manila and Japan.

What’s in this issue

National

• Hundreds of Nisei in Hawaii Assisted Investigations, FBI Official Tells Congressmen, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Robert Shivers testified before a congressional committee in Hawaii that Americans of Japanese ancestry were cleared of sabotage suspicion during the war. He said FBI investigations there were aided by hundreds of Nisei and dismissed rumors about the Pearl Harbor attack as false.
• Tenny Introduces Resolution Against Payments to Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 1. California State Senator Jack Tenney introduced a resolution asking Congress to compensate civilians detained in Japanese prison camps before paying reparations to evacuees. He noted that Interior Secretary Ickes had said such payments were under consideration.
• Gen. Stilwell Named as Chief of Western Defense Command, by P.C. Staff, page 1. General Joseph W. Stilwell was named commanding general of the Western Defense Command. He publicly praised Nisei soldiers and proposed a protective club for returning veterans of Japanese ancestry.
• Demurrer Filed for Dismissal of Case Against Fukuharas, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Attorney A. L. Wirin filed a demurrer seeking dismissal of State escheat proceedings against the Fukuhara family of San Luis Obispo County. He argued the Alien Land Law had been enforced unfairly against Japanese Americans following race-baiting campaigns.
• Widespread Opposition Rises Against Dominion Attempt to Deport Japanese Canadians, by P.C. Staff, page 2. A Toronto citizens group issued writs challenging Canadian government orders-in-council used to deport Japanese Canadians. A deputation was planned to request a Supreme Court ruling on the orders’ validity.
• China Needs Peace, Nisei Officer Writes to ILWU Leader, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Lieut. Koji Ariyoshi wrote to Harry Bridges describing his impressions of Chinese Communist areas and the desperate condition of civil war victims. He declared that China’s millions need peace.
• Secretary Wallace Hails Action to Encourage Japan Democracy, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Commerce Secretary Henry Wallace wrote to sponsors of a New York rally for a democratic Japan, urging support for Japanese sympathetic to American ideals. The rally featured Rep. John Coffee and Nisei speakers.
• Chicagoan Killed in Tavern Fight Over Nisei Girl, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A bartender in Chicago died after being struck with a baseball bat during a tavern fight that reportedly began over attention paid to a Japanese American girl. Two men were arrested.
• Fresno County Ready to File Fifteen Cases Charging Illegal Ownership of Property by Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Fresno County District Attorney James Thuesen said fifteen Alien Land Law cases involving nearly $500,000 in property are ready for filing. The State expects to charge that property was placed in the names of American-born children of alien parents.
• Shinohara Case Dismissed in San Diego Court, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The State dropped escheat proceedings against Mansaku Shinohara and his son Hajime over a 40-acre San Diego County farm. The defense argued the statute of limitations and changes in the Alien Land Law applied.
• Min Yasui Admitted to Colorado Bar, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Minoru Yasui was admitted to the Colorado state bar on January 14 and is now licensed to practice law in Colorado. He previously practiced in Portland before evacuation and is a vice president of the Denver JACL.
• Battle Royal Looms in Senate Over Fair Employment Bill, by John Kitasako, page 5. A Senate fight is brewing over a bill to make the Fair Employment Practices Committee permanent, with Southern Democrats threatening a filibuster. President Truman supports the measure, which the author argues is essential to postwar racial peace.

Military & Veterans

• Sergeant Reunited with Father on Okinawa Island, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Staff Sgt. Kenzo Miyashiro, an interpreter, was reunited with his father and aunt, who had been hiding in the hills of Okinawa. He brought them home to Itoman.
• Army Will Act to Protect Nisei GIs in Philippines, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Nisei soldiers working on war crimes trials in Manila reported hostility and insults from Filipinos and expressed a desire for transfer. Army generals promised action, while Nisei morale was reported extremely low.
• First Nisei Wins Lieutenant Colonel Rank in Army, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Robert Saibara, a veteran of three major European offensives, was promoted to lieutenant colonel, believed to be the first Japanese American promoted above major. He is a geophysicist in civilian life.
• GI Veterans Form Student Group at Hawaii University, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Discharged servicemen at the University of Hawaii formed Gamma Iota Alpha, a student veterans organization. The group aims to help members with livelihood and further education.
• First Group of Nisei WACs to Leave for Duty in Japan, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Twelve Nisei WACs who graduated from the Fort Snelling language school left for duty as translators and clerical workers in Tokyo. Many have brothers who served in Nisei infantry battalions in Italy.
• Nisei GI in Japan Meets Grandmother, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Staff Sgt. Minoru Namba, a translator with the 24th Infantry Division, visited his grandmother near Okayama during occupation duty. His parents had emigrated from Japan about 45 years earlier to a farm near Sacramento.

Incarceration & Redress

• Renunciants Get Continuance of Court Action, by P.C. Staff, page 1. A federal judge granted a continuance to February 11 for 985 Tule Lake segregees seeking to regain citizenship they renounced under pressure. The delay was requested because loyalty mitigation hearings were underway at the camp.
• Assault Attempt Denied by Evacuee, by P.C. Staff, page 1. F. Yamada pleaded not guilty to assault with a deadly weapon with intent to commit murder in Sutter County Superior Court. He is accused of stabbing another evacuee at a camp in the Sutter Basin.
• Some Evacuees Will Remain in Tule Lake Camp, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Project Director Ray Best said some evacuees may remain at Tule Lake after the WRA closing date, with the Justice Department assuming responsibility for their welfare. Several hundred residents were expected to leave within days.
• WRA Office to Place Stress on Permanent Relocation, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The WRA Los Angeles district office will focus on permanent relocation for about 2,000 people still in temporary barracks. Officials say Los Angeles County’s Japanese American population has grown to about 16,000.
• Evacuees Asked to Apply for Removal of Properties in Warehouses Before Feb. 1, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The WRA requires evacuees with property in government warehouses to request removal by February 1, 1946. Unclaimed property will be sold after March 15 under the law.
• Alien Fighting Deportation Is Denied Writ, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Federal Judge Harrison denied Sannosuke Madokoro’s habeas corpus petition but certified the due process question to higher courts and set bail at $1,500. The judge acknowledged the wartime hysteria affecting the petitioner.
• Feds Seek Dismissal of Draft Cases, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Attorney A. L. Wirin asked the Attorney General to dismiss charges against seven Heart Mountain draft resisters whose convictions were overturned on appeal. One appellate justice found the evidence insufficient.
• Distorted Hearst News Story About Evacuees on Relief Rolls Challenged by L.A. Officials, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Los Angeles officials and the WRA disputed a Hearst report claiming 4,000 persons of Japanese ancestry were on county relief. Officials said those figures reflected people in emergency public housing, and only 84 were actually on relief.

JACL

• Mike Masaoka Returns to Post With JACL, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Mike Masaoka returned to JACL national headquarters in Salt Lake City to resume his work as executive secretary after 18 months of overseas service. His future post will be announced after the national JACL convention in Denver.
• Kido to Confer in Denver on Plans for JACL Convention, by P.C. Staff, page 3. JACL national president Saburo Kido left for Denver to meet chapter officials ahead of the February 28 to March 3 national convention. A post-convention workshop will address restoring JACL to its prewar strength.
• Masaoka Will Speak on Nisei at Labor School, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Joe Masaoka, regional JACL representative, was scheduled to lecture at the Minorities Workshop of the California Labor School in San Francisco. The workshop addresses local problems of minority groups.

Community

• Nisei Participate in Cudahy Picketing, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Twenty Japanese American members of the CIO Packinghouse Workers joined picketing of the Cudahy Packing plant in North Salt Lake during a nationwide strike. The article reports their participation in the labor action.
• March of Dimes Fund Will Be Used to Treat Evacuee, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Placer County supervisors were told March of Dimes funds may treat a returned evacuee of Japanese ancestry if he is not a custodial case. The man became ill in Colorado after evacuation.
• Many Nisei Elected to Offices in Los Angeles School, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Numerous Nisei students were elected to class offices and school committees at Virgil Junior High School in Los Angeles. The article lists their names and positions.
• New Travel Grant Procedure Reported By WRA Official, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Ray Haight announced a new procedure for cash grants covering automobile travel for evacuees returning to the West Coast. Applications must be made on Form WRA 303 and completed on arrival.
• Evacuees Returning to Hawaii Meet Housing Difficulty, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Four families returning to Hawaii from mainland relocation centers could not find housing and were sheltered by the Army at Holiday House. The Army housed them free of charge.
• Fort Snelling Five Defeats Eau Claire, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The all-Nisei Fort Snelling All-Stars defeated Eau Claire State Teachers College 49 to 46, with Johnny Okamoto scoring 17 points. George Mizuno also played strongly.
• New Travel Grant Procedure Reported by WRA Official, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A new WRA procedure for automobile travel grants was announced, requiring applications on Form WRA 303 and completion upon arrival. Applications were not accepted after February 28, 1946.
• JACL Receives Nisei Relocation Invitations, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Relocation invitations for Nisei arrived at the JACL office from Athens, Ohio and Tallahassee, Florida. A Tallahassee law firm offered to assist resettlers in Leon County, Florida.
• Chico School Board Refuses to Sponsor McWilliams Lecture, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The Chico Board of Education declined to sponsor a forum featuring Carey McWilliams, citing a wish not to be responsible for ideas presented. Board member N. A. Christensen objected specifically to McWilliams.
• Jersey Group Formed to Aid Resettlement, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The New Jersey Council on Japanese Americans was organized to help about 2,300 resettled Japanese Americans adjust to their new communities. Dillon Myer of the WRA was among the speakers.
• Captain Crowley Will Speak to Chicago JACL Group, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Capt. Thomas Crowley, formerly attached to the 442nd, will address the Chicago JACL’s first meeting of the year. The chapter will also install its 1946 cabinet.
• JACL President Participates in Panel at Midvale, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Saburo Kido joined a panel forum on racial attitudes at Midvale, Utah, sponsored by the Jordan School District PTA. Panelists called for a permanent FEPC, civil rights in public places, and laws voiding restrictive covenants.
• Scholarship Honoring Dead GI Will Go to Japanese Student, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Lafayette College established a scholarship in memory of Robert S. Johnstone, a soldier killed on Luzon, with preference for a Japanese student. The award is funded from his government insurance.
• Nisei Cage League Started in Arizona, by P.C. Staff, page 7. A Nisei basketball league began play in Glendale, Arizona, sponsored by the Showa Shoyu Brewing Company. The tournament winner may face the Denver Marusho Mikis.
• Shelly Named WRA Supervisor for South California District, by P.C. Staff, page 8. James L. Shelly was named supervisor of the Southern California area of the WRA, and E. Price Steiding became relocation officer in charge of the Los Angeles district. The Authority plans to close district offices by May 1 and cease operations by July 1.
• Assimilation in Community Is Goal of Relocated Iowa Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Bill Hosokawa, president of the Des Moines Coordinating Council, said local Japanese Americans want to become an integral part of the community rather than remain segregated. Civic organizations pledged to help solve resettlement problems.
• Discuss Formation of Legal Rights Group in Los Angeles, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Participants discussed extending the Legal Rights Defense Committee, begun in Northern California with JACL assistance, to Southern California. The meeting was held under the auspices of the Los Angeles JACL office.
• Nisei Veteran Gets California Liquor License, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Haru Okamoto, a 442nd veteran, received the first distilled spirits license granted to a Japanese American since the return of evacuees to the West Coast. He and partner Shinichi Miura will operate a store in Sacramento.
• Nisei Prepared Many Floats in Rose Tournament, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Ted Lutes of the WRA reported that more than 195 Japanese Americans worked on prizewinning floats in the Tournament of Roses parade. Their labor totaled more than 8,000 man hours.
• Fishermen File Damage Claim, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The Southern California Japanese Fishermen’s Association filed a $7,500 damage claim in federal court for buildings the Navy took over on Terminal Island. The claim was filed as an answer in condemnation suits.
• Tooele Army Depot Withdraws Job Offer, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Tooele Ordnance Depot withdrew its previous job offers to Issei and Nisei because of its transition from wartime to peacetime operations.

Arts & Entertainment

• Halo Hirose May Be Ohio’s Next Nisei Swimming Star, by Tom Keys, page 2. Halo Hirose, a former national swimming champion and decorated Nisei combat veteran, enrolled at Ohio State. His coach says he may regain his pre-war form despite medical problems from trench foot.
• Noguchi Provides Settings for Martha Graham’s Dance Works, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Isamu Noguchi designed the settings and properties for Martha Graham’s new dance works, including Dark Meadow, opening in New York. Nisei dancer Yuriko Amemiya also appears in the company.
• Nakama Will Receive Australian Medals After Six Years, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Kiyoshi Keo Nakama will receive medals won in Australia in 1939 after Australian swimming officials confirmed their presentation. Nakama was also named an outstanding American swimmer of 1945.

Commentary

• Lieut. Col. Spencer Tells of Trip to Japan, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Lieut. Col. Robert Spencer, who served with the U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey in Japan, spoke to Washington Issei about his experiences. He was formerly a Methodist school administrator in Fukuoka before the war.
• Editorials: Evacuees and Relief, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial criticizes Los Angeles newspapers for distorting reports on Japanese American evacuees on relief and for insinuating they refuse work. It argues such race-biased reporting undermines postwar national unity.
• Hostility in Manila, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial describes Filipino hostility toward Nisei GIs in Manila and documents their wartime contributions in translation, interrogation, and combat. It calls for American authorities to inform Filipinos about Nisei service.
• A Song About Evacuation, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial urges that the 1942 evacuation be remembered in song, comparing it to Woody Guthrie’s Dust Bowl ballads. It surveys existing evacuee artwork and writing that document the experience.
• Vagaries, by P.C. Staff, page 5. A column of brief notes covering Nisei broadcasts, a Christmas choir recital in Tokyo, Nisei swimmers, Ben Kuroki’s forthcoming book, Hollywood casting, and repatriate currency turned in at Seattle.
• From the Frying Pan: What Would Gen. Stilwell Have Done in 1942?, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Bill Hosokawa reflects on General Stilwell’s support for Nisei soldiers and his recent assignment to the Western Defense Command. He proposes that a Pickaxe Club of veterans be formed to protect Nisei from barroom violence.

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