August 1942: Santa Anita unrest, new camps, and the Nisei vote

Vol. 15, No. 11, August 13, 1942. 8 pages. View this issue

Life inside the incarceration camps and assembly centers filled this eight-page issue. Two hundred military police were sent into the Santa Anita assembly center after an evacuee was beaten on suspicion of being an informer, and the martial law that followed was later lifted. Philip M. Glick, solicitor of the War Relocation Authority, held that citizen evacuees keep their rights as citizens. Larry Tajiri marked the end of the California removals in his column, and Bill Hosokawa, Tad Uyeno and Kenny Murase wrote on page 5.

Other pages covered the move of evacuees to Heart Mountain, Minidoka and Gila River, along with the new Abraham center in Utah. JACL sent 15,000 absentee ballot applications to the centers for the August 25 California primary, and an editorial urged citizens to vote. Mike Masaoka’s trip from Washington to Salt Lake City also appeared. Page 8 carried swimming news about Kiyoshi Nakama, who broke a world record in the mile.

What’s in this issue

National

• Authorities Lift Martial Law Which Followed Disturbance at Santa Anita Assembly Center, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Two hundred military police were called inside the Santa Anita assembly center to quell a disturbance after an evacuee was beaten on suspicion of being an informer. The WCCA later withdrew the troops after three days of stationing inside the center.
• Hawaii Official Jailed on Illegal Flag Charge, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Hawaiian Senator Sanji Abe was formally charged with illegal possession of a Japanese flag under the military governor’s orders. Abe, a former Hilo police officer and World War I veteran, was arrested and faces review by the Provost Marshal.
• Rowalt Named Deputy Chief of Relocation, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Elmer M. Rowalt was designated Deputy Director of the War Relocation Authority, which oversees relocation of 115,000 evacuated Japanese. He succeeds Col. Erle F. Cress, who had served as deputy director since the agency’s establishment.
• WCCA Order Bans Center Self-Government, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Wartime Civil Control Administration ordered evacuee self-government organizations dissolved at assembly centers and replaced them with advisory committees lacking administrative power. The new regulations affect several centers including Santa Anita, Tanforan, and Fresno.
• War Veterans Say Olson Interested in Alien Exchange Plan, by P.C. Staff, page 3. California Governor Culbert Olson wired the Oregon VFW that he was taking steps to promote an exchange of Japanese aliens for American prisoners of war held by Japan. The exchange had been proposed by the Oregon VFW to the Pacific Coast governors and Secretary of State Cordell Hull.
• Seattle CIO Asks Senators Oppose Stewart Bill, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Seattle Industrial Labor Council, CIO, announced unalterable opposition to the Stewart concentration camp bill, calling it ridiculous and contrary to the principles for which the nation is at war. Executive Secretary A. E. Harding sent letters to Washington senators urging them to oppose it.
• Circuit Court Rules Enemy Aliens Still Have Legal Rights, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that federal courts remain open to enemy aliens seeking determination of private legal rights against American citizens. Resident enemy aliens need not wait until the end of the war to obtain such a determination.
• Loyalty of Nisei Told by Dr. Shaver to Kiwanis Audience, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Dr. I. L. Shaver, a former Methodist missionary in Japan, told the Caldwell, Idaho Kiwanis Club that most American-born Japanese are loyal and cooperating with wartime restrictions. He reported baptizing 30 Japanese and noted 14 local Japanese boys were in the armed services.

Incarceration & Redress

• Manzanar Firemen Put Out Blaze Outside Center, by P.C. Staff, page 1. American-born Japanese firemen at Manzanar under Chief Ralph Feil contradicted Rep. Leland Ford’s claim that the camp threatened Owens Valley power lines and water supplies. The firemen recently extinguished a brush fire that threatened those power lines.
• Evacuees Preserve All Rights, Obligations of Citizens, Stresses WRA Solicitor in Legal Opinion, by Philip M. Glick, page 1. WRA Solicitor Philip M. Glick’s memorandum holds that citizen evacuees retain their rights and obligations as citizens except where military necessity requires curtailment. Glick recommends the federal government not seek exclusive jurisdiction over relocation areas, since doing so would strip evacuees of state citizenship rights.
• Nisei Returning to America on Exchange Ship, by P.C. Staff, page 1. American-born Japanese and some Chinese aboard the repatriation liner Gripsholm are being subjected to elaborate security screening by U.S. authorities. Passengers must list five native-born American references and non-citizens are fingerprinted and questioned.
• Poker Proves Most Expensive Pastime, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Seven Japanese at the Pomona assembly center were fined $50 each for playing stud poker, with Justice of the Peace Will G. Field suspending half of the $100 fine. The case was reported as an illustration of evacuee life in the centers.
• Salt Lake Writer Warns Against False Rumors of WRA Centers, by John Bigelow, page 1. Salt Lake Tribune staff writer John Bigelow warned readers that rumors about the new Minidoka and Delta relocation centers were mostly false, including claims of luxury bathrooms and high contractor wages. He emphasized that the evacuees are moved inland out of military necessity and many are contributing to the war effort.
• Church Conference Resolution Hits Mass Evacuee Internment, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The United Christian Missionary Society of the Disciples of Christ passed a resolution condemning mass internment based on ancestry and calling for loyalty hearing boards. The resolution urged government compensation for innocent internees and aid in reestablishing them in American life.
• Evacuee Enters Court Petition to Establish Birth, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Frank Toichi Yoshida, a Sacramento-born evacuee now in Ogden, Utah, filed a superior court petition to establish his American birth. The filing reflects a growing number of Japanese Americans legally documenting citizenship amid concerns about possible deportation.
• Tests Military Freezing Order, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The ACLU’s Southern California branch will file a habeas corpus petition on behalf of Mrs. Toki Wakayama, a citizen held at Santa Anita under a military order barring persons of Japanese ancestry from leaving Military Area No. 1. The ACLU will argue the order is unreasonable class legislation denying a hearing.
• Army Orders Tulare Group to Gila River, by P.C. Staff, page 2. About 5000 Japanese at the Tulare Assembly Center will be transferred to the Gila River Relocation Center beginning August 20, moving in groups of at least 600 daily. This marks the third movement of evacuees from assembly centers to Gila River.
• Orchard Owned by Japanese Alien Sold by State, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The State of California sold a large Modesto peach orchard owned by an ineligible Japanese alien, depositing $25,000 into the general fund. State Controller Harry B. Riley believed it was the first such seizure and sale under the Alien Land Law.
• Japanese Workers Jailed for Slowdown Tactics in Hawaii, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Five Japanese workers at Hickam Field were sentenced to jail by provost court for ridiculing conscientious coworkers and urging them to slow down work. One received a year in jail and the others nine months each.
• Nisei Sailor Leaves Puyallup to Enter U.S. Maritime School, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Kaoru ‘Chico’ Abe, a 20-year-old Honolulu-born merchant seaman, was confined at Camp Harmony after unknowingly sailing to Seattle on a tanker and was later released through union efforts. He left by train for New York to pursue an engineer’s license at the Maritime Commission school.
• Civilian Employees Smuggled Whisky; Held at Santa Anita, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Four non-Japanese civilian employees at the Santa Anita assembly center were arrested by federal agents for smuggling 45 pints of liquor into the center for sale to evacuees. They were held under $1000 bonds.
• Pioneer Group Prepares New Cody Project, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The first trainload of an eventual 10,000 west coast Japanese arrived at the Heart Mountain relocation center near Cody, Wyoming. Evacuees will govern their own community, including a city council, fire department, and stores, under government supervision.
• First Crew Leaves Puyallup Center for Minidoka Camp, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The first contingent of Camp Harmony residents left Puyallup on August 9 for the Minidoka relocation center in Idaho. The full body of some 7200 residents was expected to move by the end of the month.
• Utah Nisei Faces Camera Charge in Cedar City, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Teishiro Yamaguchi of Cedar City, Utah, was charged with violating wartime regulations prohibiting persons of enemy alien ancestry from owning cameras after a Monitor camera and case were found in his possession. He reportedly admitted knowing of the prohibition.
• Report Japanese Arrested on Freight Train in Oregon, by P.C. Staff, page 3. A Japanese man was arrested after a Tenino, Oregon housewife spotted him riding a freight train in the coastal area prohibited to persons of Japanese race. He was removed at Tacoma and turned over to FBI agents.
• Civil Liberties Union Intervenes in Kanai Case, by P.C. Staff, page 6. The American Civil Liberties Union intervened on behalf of Lincoln S. Kanai, former secretary of the San Francisco Japanese YMCA, arrested by the FBI in Wisconsin for violating evacuation orders. Attorney Perry Stearns sought a writ of habeas corpus in federal court.
• Santa Ana Sheriff Reports Dynamite Cached on Farm, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Sheriff Jesse L. Elliot reported finding caches of poisons, dynamite, and photographs of oil fields and military installations on farms evacuated by Japanese. He believed they were intended for sabotage.
• Caucasian Wife Goes to Gila With Husband, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Former teacher Rebecca Christensen accompanied her Nisei husband George Domoto to the Gila River relocation center in Arizona after he was evacuated from Fresno County. The couple had married in 1937 in Tijuana, Mexico.
• Nampa Truck Line Operator Gets Job of Hauling Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Howard P. Gibbs of Nampa, Idaho won the low bid to transport 10,000 evacuees from the Eden railroad stop to the new WRA center near Eden. The contract covers the final leg of the relocation journey.
• Build Mobile Labor Camp for Evacuee Workers, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Construction began on a mobile Japanese labor camp half a mile west of Preston, Idaho to house evacuee farm workers for harvest work. Workers would be recruited from the Eden or Abraham centers and manage their own cooperative affairs.
• Temporary Quarters Planned for New Tule Lake Schools, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Remodeling of Block 66 at Tule Lake began to provide temporary quarters for junior and senior high schools accommodating 2000 students. Three temporary elementary schools were to be remodeled after this project.
• Utah Schools to Use Nisei Teachers at Abraham Center, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Utah education officials considered a War Department proposal for state assistance in administering schools at the Abraham relocation center. The plan provides for Nisei teachers, an elected school board, and a board of seven Utah consultants.

JACL

• Masaoka Leaves Washington for Conferences in Salt Lake, by P.C. Staff, page 2. JACL National Secretary Mike Masaoka departed Washington for Salt Lake City to confer with national headquarters staff after meetings with WRA and other federal agencies. He also attended interfaith and civil liberties conferences in New York and Philadelphia on the evacuation problem.
• 15,000 Applications and Absent Ballot Sent to Centers, by P.C. Staff, page 3. JACL distributed 15,000 absentee ballot application blanks to assembly and relocation centers for the California primary election on August 25. National president Saburo Kido urged citizen evacuees who were registered California voters to exercise their franchise.
• JACL Officials Take Active Part in Fresno Center Activity, by John Hirohata, page 7. John Hirohata lists numerous JACL chapter leaders serving in administrative, recreation, hospital, and reception roles at the Fresno Assembly Center. He notes their contributions to the camp’s governance and the Grapevine Press.

Commentary

• Americans Aid China’s Battle for Freedom, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Washington Letter reports that the small U.S. air force in China, with Chinese warning systems, repelled Japanese bomber raids on Chungking and Hengyang. The author argues the successes proved American planes and pilots were top-notch despite shortages.
• Law Court Vs. Firing Squad, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Washington Letter contrasts the Supreme Court’s special session on the Nazi saboteurs’ habeas corpus appeal with Nazi summary executions and atrocities across Europe and China. It argues that American justice under law is the answer to Hitler’s hangmen.
• Vote for Democracy, by P.C. Staff, page 4. This editorial urges evacuee citizens to exercise their franchise in the 1942 by-election, arguing voters can elect officials who will fight fascism and anti-democratic conditions at home. It concludes with the call to ‘Vote for democracy.’
• A Matter of Morale, by P.C. Staff, page 4. This editorial argues that the forced evacuation of 115,000 west coast Japanese is a test of the Japanese themselves and of democracy. It draws a parallel with Dust Bowl migrants and expresses faith in the evacuees’ inner strength and the integrity of relocation leaders.
• Japan’s Unfree Press, by P.C. Staff, page 4. This editorial traces how Japan’s once-enterprising newspapers were destroyed by military censorship, purges, and German infiltration. It concludes that Japan’s press now expresses only the opinion of the warmakers.
• Rumor Laid to Rest, by P.C. Staff, page 4. A Californian returning from Hawaii reported that the only resident Japanese killed in Hawaii after Pearl Harbor died from Japanese bombs. This refuted a widely circulated rumor that hundreds of Hawaiian Japanese were shot.
• Evacuation Ends in California, by Larry Tajiri, page 4. Larry Tajiri marks the completion of the evacuation of Japanese from California, noting that anti-Japanese politics over four decades finally achieved mass removal. He observes the evacuation disrupted state agriculture and fish supplies and that political demagogues had long exploited the Japanese question.
• We Must Offer Proof of Democracy, by Tad Uyeno, page 5. Tad Uyeno argues that interned Nisei have grown disillusioned because their citizenship rights are abused in the camps. He contends that Americans must prove democracy is not a fake by practicing equality of opportunity.
• No Reason to Doubt Stories of Brutality, by P.C. Staff, page 5. Drawing on returning correspondents’ accounts, this column finds no reason to doubt reports of Japanese police brutality and torture. It argues the Japanese people themselves are victims of militarist-fascist rule rather than a race of sadists.
• From the Frying Pan, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Bill Hosokawa offers wardrobe advice for planning fall clothing during summer, noting wartime style will emphasize classic tailored pieces and substitute fabrics. He recommends buying quality classics that will not go out of style.
• Whistling in the Dark: Introducing Little Esteban, a Sagebrush Imp, by Kenny Murase, page 5. Kenny Murase introduces Little Esteban, a Mexican-Indian boy at Poston who lectures him on the value of staying occupied and contributing to the community. The sketch portrays Esteban’s wisdom about proving the camps’ residents are not slackers.
• Dearborn Attitude Un-American, Says Parlier Resident, by Ruth S. Page, page 5. Ruth S. Page writes an open letter condemning Dearborn, Michigan residents for barring Kenneth Murase from their city because of his Japanese ancestry. She argues such prejudice is un-American and cancerous to democratic ideals.
• Idaho County Seeks Evacuee Farm Workers, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Twin Falls County farm groups planned a meeting to organize a sponsoring agency to bring several hundred Japanese volunteer farm workers for the fall harvest. Officials noted evacuees from the Eden camp could provide labor and reduce costs compared with importing Mexican workers.

Military & Veterans

• Penn State Bars Japanese for Duration, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Pennsylvania State College refused to enroll two American citizens of Japanese ancestry transferring from the University of Washington, citing Eastern Defense Command advice. The decision came despite a petition signed by 2000 students protesting the exclusion.
• Nisei Would Face Japanese Firing Squad, Is Claim, by P.C. Staff, page 7. U.S. Attorney Carl C. Donaugh of Portland claimed in Victoria, B.C. that Canadian or U.S.-born Japanese who did not aid a Japanese attack would be the first executed by Japanese firing squads. The remark was made while discussing the government’s evacuation to inland areas.
• Nakama Breaks World’s Record at National AAU Swim Meet, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Hawaii-born Kiyoshi Nakama of Ohio State broke the world record in the one-mile swim at the National AAU championships in New London. His time of 20 minutes 29 seconds bettered Jack Medica’s record.
• Hawaii Nisei Wins Championship in Mile Free-Style Event, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Hawaii-born Bill Smith won the 880-yard free-style event at the national AAU meet, setting a new world record in the 440-yard event. Teammates from Ohio State’s powerful swim team dominated the competition.

Community

• New York Japanese Division Winds Up Campaign for USO, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Japanese American Division of the Greater New York USO drive, led by Yoshitaka Takagi, collected $668.50 in its campaign ending July 31. Nisei soldiers visiting New York were invited to use free USO recreation facilities.
• WRA Officials Reassure Utah Residents on Relocation Center, by P.C. Staff, page 3. WRA officials assured Delta, Utah residents they had nothing to fear from the nearby Abraham relocation center after a week-end inspection. Officials described planned self-government, schooling standards, farming enterprises, and army guard arrangements for the camp’s 10,000 evacuees.
• Manzanar Children’s Village Publishes Own Newspaper, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Young journalists at the Manzanar Children’s Village issued the first edition of their own newspaper on July 30. The staff included Clara Seno, Jane Honda, Haruko Isozaki, and several other children.
• Poston Community Enterprises Reports Sales for July, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Poston’s community stores reported gross sales of $52,532.44 for the first 26 days of July, according to the Press Bulletin. The figures reflect the economic activity of the relocation center’s internal commerce.
• Merced Center Schedules Big Kite Contest, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Kite flyers at the Merced assembly center registered for a large kite-flying contest with divisions for juniors, seniors, women, and Issei. Events include altitude, reeling in, looping, launching, and a kite battle.
• N. Y. Conference Commends Nisei Attitude in Evacuation, by P.C. Staff, page 6. A New York conference of foreign-born groups passed a resolution commending Nisei for cooperating fully with the WRA relocation program. It also opposed the Stewart concentration camp bill and urged selective rather than mass evacuation.
• Two Hundred Attend Poston Party for Block Managers, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Two hundred persons attended a July 30 Block Managers’ get-together at Poston featuring the Hawaiian orchestra, the Salinas Swing Band, hula dancers, and vocal performances. The event was organized around the project’s block management structure.
• Mamaro Wakasugi Engagement to Boise Girl Told, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The engagement of Miss Mary Yamada of Boise to JACL leader Mamaro Wakasugi was announced to friends in July. Wakasugi was a former Northwest district council board chairman and Idaho farmer.
• Nisei Gids-Wil Aid Soldiers on New York Furloughs, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Nisei soldiers visiting New York on furlough can receive housing and sightseeing help from Japanese Christian churches and the Church Committee for Japanese Work. Jack Hata at 150 Fifth Avenue coordinates services for the soldiers.
• Build Mobile Labor Camp for Evacuee Workers, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Workers constructed a mobile labor camp at Preston, Idaho for Japanese harvest workers, with dwelling units, a community hall, kitchen, and wash rooms. Families will hire cooks and cooperatively manage food expenses.

In-Depth

• Recent Magazine Articles Discuss All Phases of Coast Evacuation, by P.C. Staff, page 4. This roundup reviews recent national magazine coverage of the evacuation, including Collier’s, American Magazine, Asia, Nation, and Common Ground articles. Carey McWilliams’s Common Ground piece is singled out for urging sound social planning for eventual reintegration of evacuees.

Arts & Entertainment

• Santa Anita Writer Receives Check for Magazine Article, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Mary Oyama Mittwer, interned at Santa Anita with her family, received payment from Common Ground for her article ‘This Isn’t Japan,’ scheduled for the autumn issue. Her earlier article also appeared in the spring 1942 issue.

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