Roosevelt’s letter on loyalty and the move to Tule Lake

Vol. 17, No. 11, September 18, 1943. 8 pages. View this issue

President Roosevelt told the Senate that “the great majority” of persons of Japanese ancestry were loyal to American democratic institutions, and the Pacific Citizen put the letter at the top of its September 18, 1943 front page. He pledged to restore the right of loyal evacuees to return to evacuated areas once military conditions allow. The same page reported that the WRA had begun moving disloyal persons to a segregation center at Tule Lake, and that Lieut. Gen. Delos C. Emmons had replaced Gen. John L. DeWitt at the Western Defense Command. Editorials by P.C. Staff and Larry Tajiri followed, and columns by Bill Hosokawa, Joe Masaoka, Saburo Kido and Hito Okada filled the inside pages.

This eight-page issue also followed the Japanese American Combat Team at Camp Shelby, with promotions and baseball results. Carey McWilliams was quoted on race in California, and reports from Jerome, Rohwer and Gila River covered harvests and life in the camps. Nisei living in Cleveland and Detroit described their jobs and homes.

What’s in this issue

Incarceration & Redress

• Majority of Evacuees Loyal, Says President, by P.C. Staff, page 1. President Roosevelt told the Senate that the great majority of persons of Japanese ancestry are loyal to American democratic institutions. He pledged to restore the right of loyal evacuees to return to evacuated areas once military conditions allow.
• Some Confiscated Articles Returned to Evacuee Owners, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Radios, guns, cameras and other property confiscated from persons of Japanese ancestry in Monterey County are being returned to owners. Loyal evacuees are also gradually receiving clearance to leave relocation centers.
• Plans to Segregate Disloyal Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The WRA has begun moving disloyal persons of Japanese ancestry to a segregation center at Tule Lake, California. Individual hearings will determine further segregants, and the President said the number would be only a small minority.
• Manzanar Riot Leaders Held in Leupp Camp, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The WRA disclosed that persons responsible for the Manzanar disturbance were held in an abandoned CCC camp near Moab, Utah. The Moab camp was closed in April after the Leupp isolation center opened.
• California Commission Denies Unemployment Insurance Rights to Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The California Stabilization Commission affirmed that evacuees in relocation centers are not eligible for unemployment insurance. Several test cases on the issue are being prepared for California courts.
• WRA Initiates Segregation Movements to Tule Lake Center, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The forced migration to segregate pro-Japan evacuees from loyal persons began on September 13 at the former Tule Lake center. Trains will move about 7,500 loyal evacuees out and bring segregants in over several weeks.
• Relocation, by P.C. Staff, page 5. A personal reflection on a friend leaving the camp for relocation, describing the farewell at the gate and the mixed feelings of those left behind. It captures the emotions of departure and confinement.

Military & Veterans

• Lieut. Gen. Emmons Succeeds General DeWitt as Commander of Western Defense Area, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Lieut. Gen. Delos C. Emmons replaced Gen. John L. DeWitt as commander of the Western Defense Command and Fourth Army. Speculation arose on whether the change would affect restrictions excluding persons of Japanese ancestry from the coast.
• Men of Camp Shelby’s Field Artillery Unit Win Promotions, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Thirty enlisted men of the Field Artillery Battalion of the Japanese American Combat Team at Camp Shelby received temporary promotions. Most of the promoted men are from Hawaii.
• Additional Promotions Announced by Infantry Regiment at Shelby, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Fifty additional promotions in the Infantry Regiment of the Japanese American Combat Team were announced, including 19 sergeants and 27 corporals. All promotions are temporary.
• Civilian Agencies Seek to Settle Hawaii Dispute, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Interior and Justice Department representatives pressed the Army to revoke an order forbidding further action on the Hawaiian habeas corpus case. The dispute involves interned persons of German and Japanese ancestry held in Hawaii.
• Nisei Combat Unit’s Ball Team Wins 7th Straight Contest, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Infantry Regiment baseball team of the Japanese American Combat Team won its seventh consecutive game, defeating the 266th Field Artillery nine 9 to 4. Jimmy Miyamoto and Lefty Higuchi were credited with the win.
• Nisei Medical Unit Members Get Training, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Eleven enlisted men of the Medical Detachment of the Japanese American Combat Team left Camp Shelby for specialized Army medical schools. Several of the men had prior pre-medical or medical training.
• First Nisei WAC Volunteers From Minidoka Center, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Minnie Hasegawa became the first nisei WAC volunteer from the Minidoka relocation center. She lives in Block 4-1-F.
• Niseiin Service, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The column notes that Sumner, Washington, newspaper listed Japanese American men serving in the armed forces despite an anti-Japanese masthead. It also highlights a photo of the Tagawa family in a new photography book.
• First Topaz WAC Applicant Leaves, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Grayce Tanimoto became the first Topaz volunteer for the Women’s Army Corps, leaving for a physical exam in Salt Lake City. Captain Mary Lois House described opportunities for nisei women in the WAC.

Community

• Nine Evacuees Live in Boystown Colony in Nebraska, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Nine former evacuees are working in Boystown, Nebraska, the colony featured in films starring Mickey Rooney and Spencer Tracy. They perform administrative and farm work that Father Flanagan describes as vital to the project.
• Smith College Backs Japanese Professor Despite Threats, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Smith College maintenance workers struck to protest the appointment of Dr. Shuichi Kusaka, a Japanese alien, to the physics department. College president Herbert J. Davis and Professor Chien-shiung Wu refused to yield to the protest.
• Idaho Nisei Soldiers Return on Furloughs, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Three nisei soldiers from the Japanese American combat team visited relatives and friends in southeastern Idaho. They include Staff Sgt. Ivan Ogata and Sgt. Mike Shiozaki.
• Tea Grown at Gila Project Processed, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Herb tea grown at the Gila River relocation center is being processed at the center’s dehydration plant. The tea will soon be served to evacuee residents.
• Topaz Couple Announce Daughter’s Engagement, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Dr. and Mrs. Shozoh Fujita announced the engagement of their daughter Helen to Pvt. John Y. Izumi. Both are graduates of the University of California.
• Japanese Language Schools in Hawaii Being Dissolved, by P.C. Staff, page 3. At least eight Japanese language schools in Honolulu have officially dissolved and donated their property to community agencies. All schools were closed since December 7, 1941.
• Former Oregon State Nisei Football Star Will Play for Utah, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Jack Yoshihara, a former Oregon State end, and Jim Yagi of San Jose State answered University of Utah coach Ike Armstrong’s call for players. Yoshihara may try out for the Ute backfield.
• Rumor of Evacuees’ Return Upsets Town in California, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A rumor that evacuees had returned to Menlo Park alarmed Palo Alto residents after a young Chinese worker was mistaken for Japanese. The fruit market owner clarified that the worker was a 14-year-old Chinese boy.
• Evacuee Workers Assist Harvesting of Missouri Melon Crop, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Japanese Americans from the Jerome and Rohwer camps helped harvest the melon crop in St. Louis County. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch published photographs of their work.
• Second Rivers Nisei Joins Nurse Corps, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Grace Tanabe became the second Gila River girl to join the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps, leaving for training at Hamline University. She follows Anne Watanabe, the first Rivers girl in the corps.
• Hunt Co-op Members Receive Refunds on Year’s Purchases, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Members of the Minidoka Consumers Cooperative have received patronage refunds totaling $27,076.96 for the fiscal year ending March 1943. The payments were made in July and August.
• Gila Doctor Resigns for Research Post, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Dr. William Furuta left the Gila River relocation center to teach anatomy and conduct research at the University of Illinois. He received his Ph.D. there and previously served as an assistant teacher.
• Daily Dispatch, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The Tulean Dispatch, the first relocation center paper to publish daily, closed with its final issue on September 9, 1943. Its staff will be dispersed among other relocation centers.
• On Nisei Educational Problems: Agriculture Is One of Fields Open to Japanese Americans, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The article presents agriculture as a viable career for nisei, noting that farming is a way of life and offers independence from a prejudiced labor market. It outlines the training, costs, and classes of farm land users.
• Camp Savage Takes Six Volunteers From Denson Camp, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Six volunteers from Jerome were accepted by the Army for training at Camp Savage. Their names are listed.
• Four Hundred Nisei Find Jobs, Homes in Cleveland, by P.C. Staff, page 8. More than 400 nisei have been relocated in Cleveland, where employers praise their work habits and attendance. They work in skilled and professional fields as well as manual labor, and housing has not been a major problem.
• Million Dollar Farm Program Undertaken at Rivers Project, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The Gila River center plans to produce $1,110,000 worth of food during fiscal 1943-44, mainly vegetables and livestock. A dehydration plant and large watermelon harvests are highlighted.
• WRA Signs Agreement With Boy Scout Movement to Assist Relocation of Evacuee Youths, by P.C. Staff, page 8. WRA and National Boy Scout headquarters signed an agreement extending scouting privileges to troops at relocation centers. Scouts may transfer to troops in other communities when relocating.
• Nisei Americans Aid War Effort, Says Hawaiian, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Hawaiian Delegate Joseph Rider Farrington said in San Francisco that the Japanese situation is less disturbing in Hawaii, where loyalty is judged by principles rather than race. He praised Japanese Americans’ war effort.
• Evacuees Will Aid Assimilation, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Forty-eight former residents met in Kansas City to discuss joining local organizations and cooperating individually with groups that offered welcome. A steering committee was elected to make contacts.

JACL

• Joe Masaoka Will Speak at Colorado Social Work Parley, by P.C. Staff, page 1. JACL Denver office head Joe Masaoka will speak on governmental discrimination at a Colorado social work luncheon on September 21. The talk is part of a discussion on forms of minority discrimination.
• Calling All Chapters!, by Hito Okada, page 6. The JACL column covers WRA guidance on withholding tax for relocated evacuees with spouses and dependents at camps. It also urges chapters to ensure members register to vote in upcoming local elections.

National

• Santa Barbara Teachers Told Melting Pot Only for White Immigrants, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Carey McWilliams told Santa Barbara County teachers that the melting pot concept applies only to white European immigrants, while other minorities remain segregated. He called for changes in bias to address racial problems in California.
• California Consists of ‘Racial Islands,’ Declares McWilliams, by P.C. Staff, page 2. McWilliams described California as a collection of isolated racial and cultural islands, leading to anti-foreign feeling. He argued that understanding cultural diversity is essential for peace with Pacific peoples.
• House Group Will Reopen Repeal Fight, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The House immigration committee is preparing to resume hearings on legislation to repeal the Chinese Exclusion Act and admit a limited number of Chinese. The administration has not yet endorsed any of the five pending measures.
• USC President Favors Repeal of Exclusion Act, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Dr. Rufus B. von Kleinsmid of USC argued that repeal of exclusion laws should apply to all Asian and brown races, not only the Chinese. He said repeal for Chinese alone would be seen as a war bribe.
• McWilliams Will Speak Before Denver JACL, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Carey McWilliams will address Denver JACL members on September 21 on postwar prospects and whether California will permit evacuees to return. Min Yasui will moderate the open forum that follows.
• Post War World Council Asks Compensation for Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Post War World Council urged payment of prevailing wages in WRA centers and compensation for losses from forced evacuation. It also called for repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Law.
• Hawaiian Educator Defends WRA Treatment of Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Dr. Miles E. Cary, returning from directing education at the Poston center, defended the WRA’s policy as a forthright effort to help evacuees. He blamed west coast race baiting and Dies committee activities for harming the program.
• Article in California Weekly Defends WRA Relocation Program, by Alton L. Hall, page 6. Alton Hall, writing in the Vista Press, criticizes a Farm Bureau resolution asking for Army control of WRA centers. He argues the one-sided presentation ignored conditions in the centers and the WRA’s careful separation of loyal and disloyal evacuees.
• Eberharter Repeats Criticism of Dies Group in Broadcast, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Congressman Herman P. Eberharter said on NBC’s March of Time that the majority report of the Dies subcommittee on Japanese Americans was prejudiced and largely unproven. He praised the WRA for handling a difficult problem efficiently.

Commentary

• Action for Democracy, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial argues that the Negro problem was not resolved after the Civil War and that minority races across America have been denied full constitutional rights. It calls for a strong federal policy, citing the FEPC and proposals by McWilliams and Collier for national action on racial equality.
• The Right to Return, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial welcomes President Roosevelt’s pledge to restore loyal evacuees’ right to return to evacuated areas. It notes that nisei proved their loyalty through compliance, camp endurance, and military and production service.
• A Tacit Admission, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial notes that Warner Brothers has not corrected the libels against Japanese Americans in its film Air Force and that the film has not been shown in Hawaii. It suggests this hesitancy is a tacit admission of the film’s inaccuracies.
• Toward a Post War Policy, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. The editorial argues that the United Nations must plan postwar reconstruction of Japan to build democracy there. It traces Japan’s militarist history and warns against restoring conservative forces that could undermine a true people’s peace.
• Of Thee We Sing, by Ayako Noguchi, page 4. Children singing America the Beautiful at Denson inspire the writer despite barbed wire and barracks. The piece reflects on the unaffected loyalty of the young.
• Vagaries, by P.C. Staff, page 5. A column recounts a nisei woman arrested and jailed for living with her non-Japanese soldier husband in a state banning intermarriage. The Army and Red Cross helped secure a second ceremony in another state and efforts to correct her record.
• Another Rumor, by P.C. Staff, page 5. A Marine’s claim on national radio that a dead Japanese soldier held a San Jose taxi license is refuted by San Jose residents, who say no Japanese taxi driver has worked there. The column treats it as another rumor questioning Japanese American loyalty.
• Postscript: Engineering, Medicine and the Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The postscript responds to reactions to an earlier discussion of engineering and medicine, stressing the need for nisei to consider these fields seriously while recognizing other career options. It urges adjusting to changing times.
• From the Frying Pan: Old-Timer Has Learned to Love Freedom, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. A Japanese immigrant of forty years, loyal to America, reflects on the war and on Japan’s early victories while confident in American strength. The column portrays the issei’s growing love of liberty after decades in the United States.
• Editorial Digest, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The digest summarizes west coast newspaper editorials praising General DeWitt’s evacuation work, a Minneapolis editorial welcoming nisei neighbors, and a Pittsburgh Courier comment on Brooklyn Dodgers interest in Japanese American players. It also notes Heart Mountain’s column on Governor Carr’s stand.
• Colorado Calling: Discrimination Is Indivisible, Poll-Tax Affects All America, by Joe Masaoka, page 6. Masaoka argues the poll tax disfranchises millions of southern citizens and entrenches machine politicians and anti-democratic congressmen. He urges support for anti-poll-tax legislation as part of fighting all forms of discrimination.
• Ann Nisei’s Column: When Beauty Parlors Are Far Away, Try a Home Permanent, by Ann Nisei, page 6. The columnist tests an inexpensive home permanent kit and describes the process, time required, and results. She offers suggestions for achieving good results at camp.
• Just Incidentally: An Evacuee Looks at Dynamic Detroit, by Dale Oka, page 7. The columnist finds that Detroit offers many employment opportunities for nisei in war industries and that democracy appears healthier there than in other places. He describes jobs, wages, and housing conditions for evacuees in the city.
• The Uprooted: Stop Teaching Foolish Prejudices, Columnist Warns, by Dr. George W. Crane, page 7. Psychologist George W. Crane criticizes the uprooting and confinement of native-born Japanese American citizens while German and Italian citizens were treated differently. He argues that skin color says nothing about intelligence or character and urges an end to prejudice.
• Timely Topics, by Saburo Kido, page 7. Kido reports on his visits to JACL chapters and observes friendly receptions in Utah and Idaho but discrimination in parts of Colorado. He notes growing farm product shipments from the intermountain area to California and suggests farming opportunities in new regions.

Arts & Entertainment

• Anti-Fascists, by P.C. Staff, page 5. The column notes Taro Yashima’s anti-fascist memoir The New Sun to be published by Henry Holt, a new New York anti-fascist Japanese American group planning a magazine, and Ichiro Hasegawa teaching Air Corps cadets at Kenyon College.
• The Arms Are Fair: Bradford Smith’s New Novel Tells of War in China, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Bradford Smith’s novel follows Akiyama Tadeo, an educated Japanese soldier who opposes the war and fights in China. The book explores his moral awakening through contact with Chinese people and the brutality of battle.

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