After Proposition 15: Hawaii’s 1946 elections and the land law fight

Vol. 23, No. 19, November 16, 1946. 8 pages. View this issue

Two election results shaped this eight-page issue. In Hawaii, thirteen candidates of Japanese ancestry won territorial and county offices on Nov. 5, the first Japanese American victories at the polls there since 1942. Wilfred Tsukiyama was elected to the territorial senate. In California, voters defeated Proposition 15 by roughly 400,000 votes, and the JACL filed a petition for rehearing in the Oyama land law case. Editorials and Larry Tajiri’s column “Nisei on the Polls” weighed what the vote meant, and Joe Grant Masaoka described the JACL Anti-Discrimination Committee’s campaign.

Other pages followed the Torao Takahashi fishing case, two new suits over renunciations of citizenship at Tule Lake, and the reinstatement of Japanese Americans to California civil service jobs. Bill Hosokawa reviewed The Boy from Nebraska, about Ben Kuroki, and Jack Kitasako wrote about Nisei WACs. The Chicago pages reported on the growing Japanese American community there. Page 8 covered the end of the Hawaii sugar strike.

What’s in this issue

National

• Thirteen Japanese Americans Elected to Territorial, County Offices in Hawaii, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Thirteen candidates of Japanese ancestry won seats in the Hawaii territorial legislature and county offices in the November 5 elections. The results marked the return of Japanese Americans to elective posts for the first time since 1942.
• Horney Files Memorandum in Takahashi Case, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Attorney A. L. Wirin filed a memorandum in the Torao Takahashi test case challenging California’s law barring Issei from fishing. It argues the law was aimed at persons of Japanese descent and is therefore unconstitutional.
• Nisei Ex-GIs Learn Furniture Business Under VA Program, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Two Seattle veterans of the 442nd Combat Team are training in the furniture-building trade under a VA on-the-job program. The program is administered by the Veterans Administration.
• California Personnel Board Reinstates Nisei Employees, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The State Personnel Board ordered reinstatement of ten Americans of Japanese ancestry discharged from California civil service jobs in 1942. Back pay will be paid and other reinstatement applications are pending.
• California Personnel Board Discusses Nisei Petitions, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The State Personnel Board met to consider petitions from 16 Japanese Americans seeking reinstatement to California civil service jobs. The reinstatement was expected to follow a recommendation from the attorney general.
• Oregon Repeals Restrictions on Chinese Aliens, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Oregon voters repealed a 50-year-old law prohibiting Chinese aliens from owning agricultural and mining property. The repeal passed in the November 5 election.
• Petition for Rehearing Filed In Oyama Land Law Case, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The JACL filed a petition for rehearing of the Oyama case in the California Supreme Court, asking it to reconsider upholding the Alien Land Law. The petition argues that voters’ rejection of Proposition 15 voided the 1923 and 1943 amendments.
• Proposition 15 Defeated by 400 Thousand, by P.C. Staff, page 1. California’s Proposition 15, which would have validated Alien Land Law amendments, was defeated by roughly 400,000 votes. JACL Anti-Discrimination Committee secretary Mike Masaoka thanked supporters for the campaign.
• Report Renunciants in Texas Detention Camp Placed Under Relaxed Internment Policy, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Justice Department placed about 400 renunciants held at Crystal City, Texas on relaxed internment. Many accepted transfer to farm jobs at Seabrook Farms in New Jersey, while about 100 remained in Crystal City.
• Two New Suits Will Challenge Legality of Renunciations, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Two new federal suits were filed in San Francisco challenging the renunciations of citizenship at Tule Lake for Akiko Iris Fukuhara and Isago Isao Tanaka. The suits argue the renunciations were made under coercion and that the 1943 amendment permitting them is unconstitutional.
• FEPC Defeat Leaves Unsolved Race Problem, Says Kingman, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Harry L. Kingman, former West Coast FEPC director, said the defeat of Proposition 11 leaves California without a solution for equal job opportunity. He argued that state fair employment legislation should be pursued.
• Disclose Japanese Americans Aided in Construction of Huge U.S. Navy Oil Storage System, by P.C. Staff, page 3. More than 500 Japanese Americans were employed in building a secret Navy oil storage system under Red Hill near Pearl Harbor. The $42,000,000 project was completed in 1948 and used workers from several mining regions.
• Chinese American Wins Seat in Arizona House, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Wing F. Ong, a Phoenix attorney and grocer, became the first Oriental American elected to an Arizona state legislature. He won as a Democrat over his Republican opponent.
• Evacuee Group Faces Eviction In Portland, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Portland fire officials condemned the Barton and New Panama hotels as fire hazards, threatening eviction of returned evacuee tenants during winter. The 62 Barton tenants signed petitions protesting the eviction.

Military & Veterans

• AVC Post Named For Nisei Hero Parades in L.A., by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Sadao Munemori chapter of the American Veterans Committee marched in the Los Angeles Armistice Day parade. The chapter was renamed for the first Nisei soldier to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor.
• First World War Veteran Joins Nisei Organization, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Prof. Henry S. Tatsumi of the University of Washington, a Japanese American veteran of the First World War, joined the Nisei Veterans Committee of Seattle. He volunteered for service in that war.
• Nisei Girls Made Splendid Record in U.S. Army Posts, by Jack Kitasako, page 5. Nisei WACs served in essential posts across the Army during the war as stenographers, translators and administrators. The article profiles Master Sergeant Betty Nishimura, who volunteered and found her service satisfying.
• Hawaiian Swimmers Will Enter National Collegiate Meet, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The University of Hawaii’s AAU champion men’s swimming team, coached by Soichi Sakamoto, will compete in the National Intercollegiate meet in Seattle. The team includes several veterans of the 442nd Combat Team.
• Nisei Team Proves Surprise of San Jose Winter League, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The all-Nisei Zebra baseball team in San Jose is competing strongly in the winter league, with several members from professional and Class AAA leagues. The team recently added Nisei stars from the Presidio of Monterey.

JACL

• Coast JACL Meet Set For December, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Pacific Coast JACL chapter conference was postponed to December 7 to accommodate Pacific Northwest delegates. The San Francisco chapter will host the first coast conclave since evacuation.
• Contest Winners Offered Trip to Intermountain Convention, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Oratorical and essay contest winners will receive trips to the Intermountain JACL convention in Boise, Idaho, December 14-16. Essays must be 1000 to 1500 words and entries are due by December 1.
• Committee of JACL Active in Alien Land Measure Campaign Noted, by Joe Grant Masaoka, page 3. The JACL Anti-Discrimination Committee ran a campaign against Proposition 15 that raised about $5,000 through donations and leaflet sales. Chapters and members across Northern California worked to mobilize voters.
• Southern California Nisei, Issei Pledge JACL Support, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Nisei and Issei leaders in Los Angeles unanimously passed a resolution pledging support for the JACL in bringing the Oyama case to the U.S. Supreme Court. Mike Masaoka called the California Supreme Court’s Oyama decision based on bad and obsolete law.
• Chicago JACL Elections Will Be Held, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The nominating committee for the Chicago JACL chapter announced candidates for its November 21 elections, including Jack Nakagawa for president. Write-in candidates will be allowed.

Community

• Baby Girl Killed By Truck in Driveway Of Sacramento Home, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Two-year-old Sanaya Carol Matsuo was killed when her father accidentally backed a truck over her in the family driveway in Sacramento. The father told officers he did not know she was playing there.
• Nisei Quits Post in Protest Against Jim Crow Policy, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Two Nisei playground supervisors and a co-worker in Lincoln, Nebraska resigned in protest over a discriminatory policy against Negro children. The city later discontinued the practice after community mobilization.
• Lone Town Barber Refuses To Cut Hair of Nisei Veteran, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Sgt. Tetsuo Yanagawa was refused service by his former barber in Kent, Washington while wearing his Army uniform. The Nisei Veterans Committee of Seattle reported several other instances of discrimination against veterans.
• Maryknoll Sisters Home Will Be Used As Social Center, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The former Maryknoll Sisters’ Home in Los Angeles will be converted into a social center for Issei and Nisei members of the Maryknoll Catholic group. The decision was made at a meeting of Maryknoll Associates.
• Counseling Service Offered Evacuees In San Francisco, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The International Institute of San Francisco now offers counseling for Japanese American individuals and families through social worker Mari Okazaki. The service covers community resources, immigration help, and family problems.
• Returned Evacuees Welcomed Home to California Community, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Roy Hatanaka family returned to their Rumsey, California farm after wartime evacuation and were welcomed by neighbors with a stork shower. Their home had previously been burned down while they were interned at Amache.
• Evacuee Protest Aid to Returnees San Francisco, by P.C. Staff, page 2. A San Francisco committee coordinating aid to returned evacuees will continue to meet as needed. It protested federal delays in converting Hunter’s Point dormitories into apartments for returnees.
• Anti-Bias Committee Reports Contributions, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The JACL Anti-Discrimination Committee reported $1,800 in contributions received by its Los Angeles office for the fight against Proposition 15. The funds supported the successful campaign.
• Documentary Film on Evacuation Made by Church Group, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Presbyterian Board of National Missions produced a documentary film, Barrier and Passes, on the wartime evacuation and relocation of West Coast Japanese Americans. The film was updated with post-war relocation footage.
• Japanese Americans Pack Celery for GI Thanksgiving Dinners, by P.C. Staff, page 3. More than 25 Japanese Americans helped pack 120,000 bunches of Irvington celery for Army Thanksgiving dinners in Japan. The shipment was harvested, packed and delivered in under three days.
• Disband Stockton Committee to Aid Returned Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Japanese American Resettlement Committee in Stockton disbanded after accomplishing its goal of helping evacuees resettle. Members pledged to continue supporting fair play for minority groups.
• Congress No Longer Worried About Nisei Issue in Hawaii, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The House territories committee postponed its planned Hawaii trip until next year, and the loyalty question of Hawaii’s Japanese Americans is no longer a major concern. The Nisei combat record is seen as supporting statehood.
• Test of Language School Ban Seen, by P.C. Staff, page 6. A test case may challenge Hawaii’s 1943 law regulating foreign language schools, which could allow Japanese language schools to reopen. Attorney General C. Nils Tavares said he will defend the law.
• Twenty Thousand Evacuees Find Permanent Jobs, Homes In Chicago Metropolitan Area, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The Chicago area’s Japanese American population grew from 300 to 20,000, with at least 15,000 expected to stay permanently. Leaders credit economic opportunity and assimilation, and the community has invested over $2 million in property.
• Chicago Bowlers Win Two Matches From Cincinnati, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Chicago Nisei bowling teams defeated a visiting Cincinnati Nisei squad in two of three games on November 9 and 10. Top individual performances from Joe Horimoto and Tak Fujii were highlighted.
• Joe E. Brown Will Be Guest At Chicago JACL Inaugural, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Actor Joe E. Brown tentatively agreed to attend the Chicago JACL inaugural ball on December 13 as a special guest. Brown had publicly praised Nisei soldiers during his USO tours in the Pacific and Mediterranean.
• YBA Group Holds First Post-war Meet in Watsonville, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The first postwar coast district YBA conference was held in Watsonville under the theme This Is My Faith. The conference passed a resolution honoring Japanese American soldiers and installed new officers.
• Interracial Solidarity Shown By Sugar Industry Workers As Strike Nears Settlement, by P.C. Staff, page 8. CIO officials in Hawaii praised the interracial solidarity of the 28,000 sugar industry workers as the 75-day strike neared settlement. The ILWU’s multiracial leadership, including Japanese American veterans, was credited with the success.

Commentary

• Los Angeles Nisei Survives Harrowing Japan Experience, by James R. Young, page 2. Harry Okida, a Los Angeles Nisei, returned to Japan after serving as a wartime interpreter in the Pacific and hiding in the mountains for two years. He was reunited with American forces at Atsugi.
• Vote Against Proposition 15 Interpreted as Repudiation of Anti-Orientalism in California, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The defeat of Proposition 15 is read as a repudiation of decades of anti-Japanese agitation by California’s entrenched groups. The editorial argues the vote may signal the end of hate campaigns against Japanese Americans.
• Program for Democracy, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial argues that racial democracy can be achieved through legislation and education, citing wartime FEPC success and Soviet Union practices described by Dr. Robert C. Weaver. It calls on America to adopt similar methods.
• Decision in Hawaii, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial praises the negotiated settlement of the Hawaii sugar strike, which raised wages and ended feudal plantation conditions. It credits interracial worker unity and the ILWU’s anti-discrimination policy for the success.
• Statutory Deadwood, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial notes Oregon repealed its anti-Chinese land law but still retains an Alien Land Law targeting Japanese aliens. It argues California’s rejection of Proposition 15 should prompt repeal of its own Alien Land Law.
• Nisei on the Polls, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. Tajiri recounts how Nisei leaders refused to trade their support against an anti-FEPC measure for opposition to Proposition 15. He traces how wartime race-baiting exposed political opportunism and how liberal allies stood by Nisei.
• Reading The Boy from Nebraska, by Bill Hosokawa, page 4. Hosokawa reviews Ralph Martin’s book about Ben Kuroki, a Nebraska Nisei who faced racial discrimination in the army before flying combat missions. He praises the book as an absorbing account of Kuroki’s maturing.
• Tomorrow’s Heirs, by Sachi L. Wada, page 4. Wada reflects on a college Homecoming bonfire and the young veterans who will never share such college memories because of the war. She also meditates on the beauty of night and memories of a past wartime camp.
• Washington News-Letter, by Jack Kitasako, page 5. Kitasako profiles Nisei WACs who served with distinction, focusing on Master Sergeant Betty Nishimura of Rocky Ford, Colorado. He notes that every Nisei WAC volunteered and that they met high standards in service.

Obituaries

• Mother Held in Death of Young Daughter, Admitted Signed Statement, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A 49-year-old mother in Airfield, California was held in county jail after admitting to killing her two-year-old daughter. Officials said she had a history of mental illness and had previously been treated at a state hospital.
• Last Rites Held For Mrs. W. Onoye, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Funeral services were held for Mrs. Wakiko Onoye, 56, of Los Angeles, who died of a stroke. She was survived by her family, including a son killed in 1945 while serving with the 442nd.

Arts & Entertainment

• Nisei Soprano to be Presented in Benefit Concert, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Fresno soprano Masako Ono will perform in a benefit concert of classical and Japanese songs on December 29 at Fresno State College. Proceeds will go to the CCBA organ fund.

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