Citizenship under attack: the 1942 fight over Nisei rights

Vol. 15, No. 5, July 2, 1942. 8 pages. View this issue

Nisei citizenship was the central fight of this eight-page issue. In a San Francisco federal court, former California Attorney General U.S. Webb argued that Japanese Americans should be denied citizenship, and the Native Sons of the Golden West sought to remove 90 Japanese American voters from the rolls. The editors answered in several pieces, including “Is U.S. Webb a Fascist?” and “Ku Kluxers Threaten Nisei Citizenship.” Bill Hosokawa wrote about Nisei behind barbed wire, and a San Francisco Chronicle editorial was reprinted. The Army, meanwhile, praised Nisei soldiers in Hawaii.

Other pages follow the World War II incarceration (often called internment) from inside the camps: Tule Lake orders for northern California, trouble and arrests at Santa Anita, and Dillon Myer’s appointment to lead the WRA. Fred T. Korematsu’s jailing is reported, as are evacuee volunteers saving sugar beet crops in Idaho and Oregon, and a profile of sculptor Isamu Noguchi at Poston.

What’s in this issue

National

• Army Praises Nisei Soldiers in Hawaii; Combat Duty Planned Outside Pacific, by P.C. Staff, page 1. U.S. Army headquarters in Hawaii commended Americans of Japanese ancestry for their efficiency and conduct before and after the Pearl Harbor attack. The Army announced that these soldiers were sent to Camp McCoy for training and would be assigned to combat duty on fronts other than the Pacific.
• U.S. Court Asked to Ban Nisei Citizens, by P.C. Staff, page 1. In a San Francisco federal court, former California Attorney General U.S. Webb argued that Asiatics, including Japanese Americans, should be denied American citizenship. The National Lawyers’ Guild condemned the argument as fascistic and comparable to Nazi racial doctrine.
• House Group Approves $70 Million Fund for Relocation, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The House Appropriations Committee approved $70 million for the War Relocation Authority to establish self-supporting communities for about 130,000 Japanese. The funding was requested by President Roosevelt.

Incarceration & Redress

• Grievances Will Be Ironed Out at Santa Anita, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Center manager H. Russell Amory assured camouflage net workers at Santa Anita that legitimate grievances would be addressed. A WRA hearing board also received suggestions for relocation center projects such as agriculture and vocational schools.
• Six Japanese Face Prison Over Santa Anita Trouble, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Six Japanese aliens and five Japanese American citizens at Santa Anita were charged with conspiracy after holding an unauthorized secret meeting in violation of Army regulations. The accused face possible prison terms if convicted.
• Tule Lake Relocation Center Orders Issued for Zone 2, by P.C. Staff, page 2. General DeWitt issued three Civilian Exclusion Orders affecting about 1,800 Japanese in northern California, who will be sent directly to the Tule Lake Relocation Center. Evacuees will be allowed to carry up to 150 pounds of personal property.
• Dillon Myer, New WRA Head, Has Long Public Service Record, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Dillon S. Myer succeeded Milton S. Eisenhower as WRA director on June 17, bringing a background in federal agriculture and soil conservation service. He is expected to continue existing WRA policies and visit Pacific Coast centers soon.
• Charge Attempt to ‘Railroad’ Senate ‘Concentration Camp’ Bill, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Senator Stewart’s bill S. 2293, which would have authorized the Secretary of War to intern all Japanese Americans in concentration camps, was delayed by objections from Senators Murdock, Ball, Taft, and Clark. The editors praise the bipartisan opposition as a defense of all Americans’ rights.
• Native Sons Begin Legal Fight to Strip Nisei of Citizenship, by P.C. Staff, page 3. In San Francisco federal court, the Native Sons of the Golden West sought to remove the names of 90 Japanese American voters from election rolls. Attorney Webb argued citizenship should be limited to whites and American Negroes, a position opponents compared to Mein Kampf.
• Nisei Testing Evacuation Sent to County Jail, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Fred T. Korematsu, a Bay Area shipyard worker, was transferred to county jail after being charged with being in a prohibited area while allegedly disguising his Japanese ancestry. The ACLU prepared to challenge the military’s authority to arrest him.
• Tulare Residents Join Campaign to Salvage Rubber, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Tulare Center residents wrote to caretakers of their former properties asking them to donate rubber articles to the war drive. The center newspaper also promoted wooden clogs as a rubber-saving alternative.
• Tulelake Farms Not to Compete With Neighbors, by P.C. Staff, page 7. County Agent C.A. Henderson reported that West Coast evacuees at the Tulelake relocation center would not engage in commercial potato production. The assurance followed local concerns about competition in the Klamath area.
• Six Aliens Arrested at Santa Anita Center, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Six aliens and five citizens were arrested at Santa Anita after holding an illegal Japanese-language meeting in violation of Army regulations. The detainees faced charges under federal statutes.
• Fresno County Farmers Seek Japanese Help, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Fresno County supervisors approved a plan for farmers to use evacuee labor from assembly centers, despite earlier demands for evacuation. The arrangement required transportation, prevailing wages, and return to centers each day.

Community

• Nisei Architect Plans Lake Park at Tanforan, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Roy Watanabe, a University of California graduate, designed a lake park with a playground, rock gardens, and a pitch-and-putt golf course at Tanforan’s North Lake. Thirty men work under him in the landscaping department.
• Tanforan Mess Worker Purchases $1900 War Bonds, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Bill Kochiyama, a 21-year-old mess hall worker at Tanforan, inherited $2,000 from a former stage and screen star his father had worked for. After paying inheritance tax, he invested the remaining $1,900 in War Bonds.
• Volunteers for Victory, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Officials of the U.S. Employment Service praised Japanese evacuee volunteers for saving the sugar beet crop in Idaho and Oregon during a labor shortage. The editors call them volunteers for victory in the food for freedom campaign.
• Calling All Chapters!, by Teiko Ishida, page 6. The column features a letter from a former Eden Township chapter secretary now in Rockford, Illinois, praising the PACIFIC CITIZEN. It also notes that former members stationed at Camp Grant receive a special subscription rate.
• Evacuee Volunteers Praised for Work in Oregon Fields, by Howard Fujii, page 7. Officials praised Japanese evacuee volunteers at the Nyssa, Oregon farm camp for their excellent work in sugar beet fields. Camp conditions improved with electricity, running water, and a medical clinic, and families are being invited to join.
• Nisei Working Beets Hold College Honors, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Koji Ariyoshi and Sumitaka Uchimura, both University of Hawaii graduates with advanced academic credentials, volunteered for sugar beet work in Rupert, Idaho. They chose to contribute to the war effort through agricultural labor.
• Placer Chapter Aids Evacuation Preparations, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The Placer chapter of the JACL remains active in community service by arranging typhoid shots for Japanese residents and setting up offices to help them prepare for evacuation. It also arranged a priest for a funeral at the local WCCA office.

Commentary

• An Editorial: This Democracy, Senator Stewart?, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The editors criticize Senator Stewart for attempting to railroad an unconstitutional concentration camp bill through the Senate. They praise the bipartisan group of senators who blocked it and question why affected Japanese Americans were never called to testify.
• Japanese Looting Conquered Areas, Say U.S. Officials, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Office of War Information reported that Japan is systematically looting occupied territories and using puppet officials to exploit resources. The statement was based on monitored foreign radio broadcasts.
• Nisei Will Miss M. S. Eisenhower, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editors express disappointment at the departure of Milton Eisenhower from the WRA, praising his sincerity and understanding of Japanese American concerns. They congratulate him on his promotion while asking him to keep the evacuees in mind.
• Ku Kluxers Threaten Nisei Citizenship, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editors condemn efforts by Pacific Coast groups to strip American-born Japanese of citizenship through court challenges and a proposed constitutional amendment. They warn that reversing the Wong Kim Ark decision would affect all Oriental-descended Americans.
• Should Not Delay Move to Relocation, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editors argue that evacuees in assembly centers should be moved to relocation centers without delay, even if California faces a farm labor shortage. They say making citizens work on farms by day and return to camps at night treats them like prisoners.
• Japanese Beginning, End of Evacuation, by P.C. Staff, page 4. General DeWitt lifted restrictions on Italian and German aliens, which the editors view as a relief for those families. The editors hope the Japanese evacuation will be the last such mass removal and emphasize rehabilitation at relocation centers.
• Washington Letter: Eastern Reactions, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editors report that Eastern opinion opposes Webb’s attack on Japanese American citizenship, contrasting it with recent statements by Vice President Wallace and Sumner Welles. They argue Japanese Americans have proven their loyalty and deserve constitutional protection.
• Keep a Personal Record, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editors urge evacuees to keep personal daily records of their evacuation and relocation experiences to help future historians. They cite advice from an American writer who encouraged Nisei to document their reactions.
• Editorial: Is U.S. Webb a Fascist?, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editors argue that Webb’s racial exclusion arguments echo Nazi propaganda and would help Japanese propaganda efforts. They assert that America’s strength lies in its racial diversity and that the Native Sons should repudiate such policies.
• The Lancer: Concentration Camps and Citizenship, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Tad Uyeno argues that imprisoning American citizens of Japanese ancestry contradicts democratic principles the nation is fighting to defend. He criticizes the government for labeling citizens as aliens and applying inconsistent rules in camps.
• From the Frying Pan: Nisei Behind the Barbed Wire, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Bill Hosokawa describes how 100,000 Japanese Americans behind barbed wire are contributing to the war effort, along with thousands serving in the armed forces. He warns that persistent voices calling for disenfranchisement threaten national unity.
• Editorial: From the San Francisco Chronicle, by San Francisco Chronicle, page 5. The Chronicle editorial argues that attempts to disenfranchise citizens of Japanese ancestry are ill-timed and that legal definitions should not be changed during the war. It contends that the Constitution’s principles apply to all people, not just whites.
• Willkie Makes Strong Plea for Rights of Minority Groups, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Wendell Willkie wrote in the Saturday Evening Post that taking liberties from groups we hate endangers the liberties of those we love. The editors reprint his argument that protecting minorities is essential to democracy.

In-Depth

• An Artist Fights Fascism: Isamu Noguchi Casts His Lot With the Nisei, by M.T.O., page 5. The article profiles sculptor Isamu Noguchi, who voluntarily went to the Poston relocation center to design its landscaping and park plans. It describes his multicultural background and his opposition to fascism throughout his career.

Thank you for exploring the Pacific Citizen archive. The title, introduction and contents on this page were written by an AI model from scans of the printed issue, so they may contain mistakes. If you spot one, we would be grateful if you let us know.