The JACL brief to the Supreme Court in the Korematsu case

Vol. 19, No. 15, October 14, 1944. 8 pages. View this issue

The JACL’s 200-page brief in the Supreme Court case of Fred Korematsu led the news. Signed by Saburo Kido and A. L. Wirin, it argued that the military evacuation of citizens of Japanese ancestry was unconstitutional. Other stories covered the Court’s five hours of argument in the Korematsu and Endo cases, and a petition from the attorneys general of California, Oregon and Washington. In western Washington, a new Remember Pearl Harbor League organized against the return of Japanese Americans, and Bill Hosokawa answered it in his column.

Also in this issue: Larry Tajiri on the Army opening officer candidate training to Japanese American soldiers, and the 442nd Regimental Combat Team’s record in Italy. Toshio Mori wrote two Topaz sketches, and Carey McWilliams’ book Prejudice was reviewed. Saburo Kido reported on his travels among resettled families in the Midwest and East.

What’s in this issue

Incarceration & Redress

• JACL Files Brief in Test On Evacuation, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The JACL filed a 200-page brief in the Supreme Court arguing that the military evacuation of citizens of Japanese ancestry was unconstitutional. The brief reviews the claimed military necessity and stresses racial prejudice as a factor.
• Supreme Court Considers Korematsu, Endo Cases Testing Validity of Coast Evacuation, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Supreme Court heard five hours of argument on the constitutionality of evacuating and confining citizens of Japanese ancestry. The justices retired to deliberate after attorneys for Korematsu and Endo challenged the government’s position.
• State Attorneys General Ask For Relaxation of Exclusion Orders Affecting Citizen Group, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Attorneys General of California, Oregon and Washington petitioned the Supreme Court to lift civilian exclusion orders as soon as national security permits. They supported the government’s claim that the evacuation rested on military necessity.
• Myer Admonishes New Group Opposing Return of Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 3. WRA director Dillon Myer told a newly formed anti-evacuee league that returning war veterans would be particular about constitutional liberties. He said the friction was mostly economic and noted the service and sacrifice of Japanese Americans.
• Organize Anti-Evacuee Group, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Benjamin Smith, a Kent dairyman, reported the organization of the Remember Pearl Harbor League to prevent evacuees from returning to the White River and Puyallup valleys. Leaders disavowed violence while stating their intent to use legal means.
• Sumner Editor Recalls Agitation Against Chinese, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Corydon Garrett, editor of the Sumner Standard, called on residents to support the new anti-evacuee organization. He framed it as the most vital fight in the area since the Chinese were run out a quarter century earlier.
• Opposition to Anti-Evacuee League Noted, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Sheriff Harlan Callahan promised full protection to returning evacuees, and Seattle clergy and attorneys opposed the anti-evacuee group. Dr. Harold Jensen argued that permanently restricting loyal citizens would undermine democracy.
• Past Records Will Guide Canadians in Segregation Program, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Canadian authorities planned to segregate loyal and disloyal persons of Japanese ancestry using documentary evidence from the RCMP and other agencies. A segregation center similar to Tule Lake was also planned.
• Ian Mackenzie Denounced by Canada Papers, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Two major Canadian newspapers condemned Ian Mackenzie’s call for a Liberal campaign slogan of no Japanese from the Rockies to the Sea. The Vancouver Province and Winnipeg Free Press called the stance racialist and dishonest.
• 431 Deaths Reported in WRA Centers, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The War Relocation Authority reported 481 deaths among persons of Japanese ancestry in camps from January 1 to October 1, over 99 percent from natural causes. The figures responded to a Tokyo broadcast announcing memorial services.
• Convict Three In Canadian Disturbance, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Three Ingersoll men were convicted of unlawful assembly after a September 24 demonstration against Japanese Canadian workers. The mob had tried to enter a building where the workers were quartered.
• Gannon May Open Assembly Investigation on Charges PAC With Fomenting Pressure For Return of Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Assemblyman Chester Gannon charged that Communists, radicals and CIO Political Action Committee members were pressing for the early return of evacuees. He announced his committee would meet in late October or early November.
• Five Thousand Relocated from Poston Center, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Indefinite leaves from the Poston WRA center passed the 5,000 mark on Sept. 19. About 11,000 persons remained in the center as of late September.

Military & Veterans

• Sgt. Takahashi Nabs Seven Prisoners in One Afternoon, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Private First Class Takahashi of a Hawaiian Nisei battalion captured seven German prisoners and seized an enemy motor pool on the Fifth Army front in Italy. He crawled to a flank to take prisoners and later led an ambush patrol.
• War Department Notes Record of 442nd Infantry, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The War Department reported that the 442nd Infantry Regiment killed 1,124 Germans and captured 331 during fighting near Leghorn, Pisa and Florence. The report cited a dispatch from Italy.
• FDR Notes Nisei Fighting Against Nazis, by P.C. Staff, page 1. President Roosevelt praised the Japanese American combat teams fighting in Europe during a Columbus Day speech to diplomats from Latin American countries. He cited men from Hawaii as giving the lie to Nordic superiority theories.
• Nisei Soldiers Aid Allied Victories on Burma Front, by Staff Sgt. Edgar Laytha, page 2. Staff Sgt. Edgar Laytha profiles Nisei soldiers in the China-Burma-India theatre, including Sgt. Kenny Yasui, who captured enemy Japanese on the Irrawaddy River. The article also describes Nisei in Merrill’s Marauders and their courage and discipline.
• Earl Finch Treats Hawaii Soldiers To Football Game, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Earl Finch hosted 200 new Army trainees from Hawaii at a football game in Tyler, Texas, and later hosted 50 of them at a sashimi dinner in Dallas. The soldiers’ morale was reported to be high.
• Gila Soldier Reported Hurt On Italy Front, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The War Relocation Authority reported that Henry Nakada of Gila River was wounded in Italy. His parents have five sons in the armed services, four of them volunteers.
• Santa Barbara Nisei Decorated for Heroism in Italy, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Staff Sgt. Masaharu Okumura of Santa Barbara was decorated for heroism in Italy and was one of the first American soldiers to enter Pisa. The News-Press reported the decoration.
• Nisei Sergeant Wins Promotion on Battlefield, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Sergeant Chomori of the 442nd Infantry earned a battlefield commission as second lieutenant in Italy on Aug. 26. He had enlisted in 1941 and was a member of the original cadre of the combat team.
• Pfc. Shintaku Wounded Second Time in Italy, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Pfc. Kiyoshi Shintaku of the Japanese American Combat Team was wounded in Italy for the second time on Sept. 16. He had earlier received the Purple Heart for wounds received in May.
• Combat Team Officer Killed in Italy Action, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Capt. Robert L. Hempstead of the 442nd Infantry was killed in action in Italy on Aug. 28. His mother said the soldiers were the most valiant she had known of.
• Japanese American Drive: Nazis Crazy With Languages, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Pfc. Robert Iwamoto of the 442nd Infantry used a mix of languages in radio communications to avoid German interception. The final message went out clearly in plain English and the unit advanced as directed.
• Veterans of Italy Convalescing in California, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Six wounded veterans of the 100th Infantry Battalion were recovering at Dibble General Hospital in California. Lieut. Norman Mitchell praised the combat ability and good humor of the Japanese American soldiers.
• Initial Group Leaves Snelling For OCS, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The MIS Language School at Fort Snelling received a quota for Japanese American trainees to attend officer candidate school at Fort Benning. Eighteen Japanese Americans and three Chinese Americans left for training.
• Front-Line Soldier Yearns for Taste of Home-Fried Chicken, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Sgt. Masaru Suehiro of the 100th Infantry Battalion, a Distinguished Service Cross recipient, was granted furlough after nine months on the Fifth Army front. He said his top wish was home-fried chicken.

Arts & Entertainment

• Kuniyoshi Wins National Award For Painting, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Yasuo Kuniyoshi received first prize of $1,000 in the Carnegie Institute annual exhibition for his still life painting Room 110. He was chosen from 311 entries.
• NBC Broadcast Tells Story of U.S. Japanese, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The NBC and Blue network program They Call Me Joe told the story of Japanese Americans through a letter from a San Francisco hotelkeeper in a relocation center to his soldier son. The broadcast also noted the combat record of Japanese Americans in Italy and the Pacific.
• Book Review: Prejudice, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The review covers Carey McWilliams’ book Prejudice, which traces the history of anti-Japanese agitation and the evacuation. McWilliams argues the Nisei’s loyalty will in time remove long-standing suspicion and calls for federal action against racial discrimination.

Commentary

• McWilliams Urges Lifting Ban Against Japanese Americans In New Book, Prejudice, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Carey McWilliams recommends lifting the military ban excluding persons of Japanese ancestry from the West Coast in his new book Prejudice. He also suggests federal assurances against violence and compensation for evacuee losses.
• Nisei U.S.A., by Larry Tajiri, page 4. Larry Tajiri’s column notes the Army’s new policy opening officer candidate training to Japanese American enlisted men at Fort Snelling. He also reports the lifting of the blackout on Nisei combat activity in the Pacific.
• Editorial: Change in Policy, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial praises the War Department’s new policy opening officer candidate training to Japanese American enlisted men. It argues the change is practical evidence that these soldiers have earned the trust they merited.
• Editorial: Army Attitude, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial cites the petition of three state attorneys general and changes in military policy as signs of a stronger status for evacuees. It calls for guarantees of protection of their civil rights when exclusion orders are lifted.
• Editorial: Two Americans, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial honors Wendell Willkie and Alfred E. Smith as champions of tolerance and the underdog. It notes their humble origins and their work against racial discrimination.
• Editorial: Lonely Sergeants, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial recalls two Japanese American sergeants in New Guinea who asked for mail and received 77 letters in response. One sergeant was killed in action and the other reportedly received the Bronze Medal.
• Two Sketches: Topaz Mosaic, by Toshio Mori, page 5. A fictional sketch portrays a Topaz family where the father struggles with English while writing a letter to his soldier son Sam. The family’s everyday life and their connection to the absent son are depicted.
• What’re You Fighting For…?, by Toshio Mori, page 5. A second sketch follows Private Sam Suzuki in Salt Lake City, reflecting on why he volunteered despite his family’s confinement. He reaffirms his fight for a day when they will live freely.
• From the Frying Pan: Organized Racism in Western Washington, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Bill Hosokawa criticizes the Remember Pearl Harbor League and its organizer Benjamin Smith for seeking economic advantage from the evacuation. He documents the valleys’ Japanese American farm production and their role in developing the land.
• Editorial: Significant Incident, by Provo Herald, page 5. The Provo Herald reported that a Provo woman moved away when a Japanese American volunteer joined Red Cross bandage rolling. Another woman invited the Nisei to sit beside her, and the incident is presented as a lesson in tolerance.
• Ann Nisei’s Column: Luxury Is Keynote Of New Fashions, by Ann Nisei, page 6. Ann Nisei describes the new luxurious fashion trends of big hats, fur-trimmed tunics and draped dresses. She advises Nisei women on which styles suit them best.
• Letter-Box: From Our Readers, by Asami Oyama, page 6. Asami Oyama writes from Connecticut urging Nisei to register and vote in the coming election. She argues that Americans must work against discrimination.
• Timely Topics: Trip Provides Proof of Relocation, by Saburo Kido, page 6. Saburo Kido reports on his travels through Midwest and Eastern cities where he met many evacuee friends. He describes housing difficulties, plentiful jobs, climate concerns and emerging farming opportunities.

National

• Canadian CCF Backs Rights of Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Cooperative Commonwealth Federation of British Columbia affirmed support for the rights and citizenship equality of Japanese Canadians at a campaign meeting in Vernon. Mrs. D. G. Steeves said the party would stand up for them even at electoral cost.
• Gis Will Defend Evacuees from Barroom Patriots, Says Myer, by P.C. Staff, page 8. WRA Director Dillon Myer said he was not worried about returning GIs’ attitudes toward Nisei because they had seen Nisei in action. He noted that most relocated evacuees will probably not return to the West Coast after the war.
• Evacuee Return Decision Up to Army, Says Ickes, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Secretary of Interior Harold Ickes told reporters that the question of evacuee return to the West Coast is solely an Army decision. He declined further comment.

Community

• Thomas Masuda Opens Illinois Legal Practice, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Thomas Masuda became the first resettler admitted to the Illinois bar without examination and opened an office in Chicago. He previously practiced law in Seattle and served at Poston.
• Philadelphia Girl Leaves for Training In Women’s Army, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Anne Takano, an evacuee affiliated with the American Friends Service Committee, left Philadelphia for Women’s Army Corps training. A photo of her departure was published by the Inquirer.
• Inter-racial Co-op Farm Near Spokane Harvests First Crop, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The Bear Creek Farms Association, an interracial cooperative near Spokane, harvested its first crop. Three Japanese American families and two Caucasian families operate the farms, financed by gifts and loans.
• Topaz Rams Will Meet Leading Utah High School Teams, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The Topaz high school football team, made up entirely of evacuee students, announced its schedule against Utah high schools. The team had defeated Hinckley 34 to 0 the previous week.
• Spokane Nisei Stars On High School Team, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Frank Miyaki, a Nisei back at North Central High in Spokane, scored both touchdowns in a 12 to 0 win over Lewis and Clark. He led his team to a 26 to 6 victory over Walla Walla the following week.
• Topaz Evacuee Leaves for Stanford, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Sumio Yoshii of Topaz left to work as a drillmaster at the Stanford University Civilian Training School. He is the third Topaz resident to go to Stanford.
• Nisei Girl Marries Sergeant in Illinois, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Sakko Shiga, daughter of Henry Shiga of Seattle, married Staff Sgt. William Himel of Des Plaines, Illinois, at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Park Ridge on Oct. 6.
• Amache Hi-Y Delegates to Pueblo, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Four newly elected officers of the Amache Hi-Y attended the Hi-Y officers training conference in Pueblo, Colorado. Melvin McGovern serves as the group’s sponsor.

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