General DeWitt’s anti-Japanese remark and its fallout

Vol. 16, No. 16, April 22, 1943. 8 pages. View this issue

General DeWitt’s statement that “a Jap’s a Jap” dominated the news in this eight-page issue. The front page reported that the remark had upset an administration plan to return some loyal evacuees to the Pacific coast, while War Department sources said he had been misquoted. The Washington Post condemned the remark, and the Native Sons of the Golden West and a Sonoma County grange backed him. A trade union view by George Blumenson warned that talk of deporting citizens endangered other minorities. Public Proclamation No. 17 let Japanese American soldiers travel in Military Areas 1 and 2, and JACL national secretary Mike Masaoka was told to report for an army physical.

Elsewhere, Bill Hosokawa wrote on the maturing nisei press, and Robert R. Tsuda reviewed Carey McWilliams’ new book. A. L. Wirin covered the Oshiro lease case. Also inside: volunteers for the Camp Shelby combat unit at Minidoka and Jerome, and a Poston newspaper printed on site.

What’s in this issue

National

• Army Commander’s Attitude Balked Plan to Return Some Evacuees to Coast, Is Report, by P.C. Staff, page 1. United Press reports that General DeWitt’s statement that ‘a Jap’s a Jap’ has upset an administration plan to return loyal evacuees to useful work on the Pacific coast. The administration is reportedly transferring some American-born Japanese to eastern farms and industry instead.
• Lt. Gen. DeWitt Misquoted on Statement Opposing Evacuees, Washington Sources Declare, by P.C. Staff, page 1. War Department sources claim DeWitt was misquoted, while the Los Angeles Times reports the army is considering relaxing restrictions on return to the coastal states. Pacific coast congressmen urged caution, and the WRA denied pressuring the War Department.
• Washington Post Raps DeWitt Statement on Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The Washington Post editorially condemned DeWitt’s ‘a Jap’s a Jap’ remark and the indiscriminate evacuation and detention of American citizens of Japanese ancestry. It argued that no legal basis exists for continuing to hold them.
• Resettled Evacuees Eligible to Get Emergency Help, by P.C. Staff, page 1. The WRA announced an arrangement with the Social Security Board allowing evacuees on leave to access local relief programs. The WRA considered financial help unlikely to be needed given plentiful jobs.
• First Relaxation of Japanese Evacuation Orders Proclaimed This Week by Lt. Gen. DeWitt, by P.C. Staff, page 1. DeWitt’s Public Proclamation No. 17 allows Japanese American soldiers on furlough or leave to travel within Military Areas 1 and 2 despite other restrictions remaining in force. The move follows the recent formation of a Japanese American combat unit at Camp Shelby.
• WRA Reveals Curtailment of Present Relocation Program Considered, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Los Angeles Times reported that the WRA is considering curtailing relocation and approved proposals to draft Japanese American men of military age. Officials also weighed releasing disloyal evacuees for supervised work away from the coast.
• Native Sons Back DeWitt Stand on Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Native Sons of the Golden West president Lloyd Cosgrove endorsed DeWitt’s opposition to allowing evacuees back on the west coast. He argued that Japanese treachery was a national threat.
• Volunteers Pass Army’s Tests, by P.C. Staff, page 3. At Minidoka, 211 of 289 volunteers were classified for general military service after medical screening. Twenty-eight were classified for limited service and fifty were rejected.
• Secretary Ickes Hires Nisei Evacuees for Maryland Farm, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Interior Secretary Harold Ickes arranged for release of seven Japanese American evacuees from Poston to work on his Maryland farm and a neighboring chicken farm. Ickes said he believed the government should ease the burden the war has placed on this group.
• Rep. Rankin Hits Combat Service for U.S. Nisei, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Representative Rankin of Mississippi warned the House against training Hawaiian-born Japanese for combat and suggested they be put into labor battalions. His remarks drew attention as coming from a legislator long known for anti-Japanese views.
• Maryland Farms Seek Evacuees, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The WRA reported that about 100 Japanese Americans have been released for eastern employment and 3,500 for the midwest and northwest. Fifteen applications for about 25 workers in the Washington area are pending.
• California CIO Will Back Bills Repealing Chinese Exclusion, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The California CIO Council told Mme. Chiang Kai-shek it will support congressional legislation to repeal Chinese exclusion laws. The council argued the laws were an injustice and were being used as anti-American propaganda by Japan.
• Asiatic Americans Back Bill for U.S. Naturalization Rights, by P.C. Staff, page 6. Representatives of Asian American groups backed Congressman Marcantonio’s bill H.R. 2011 to allow Oriental nationals to become naturalized citizens. A six-point campaign was planned, including petitions and mass meetings.

Military & Veterans

• Mike Masaoka Notified of Induction Date, by P.C. Staff, page 1. JACL national secretary Mike Masaoka was notified by his draft board to report for an army physical on May 6. If he passes, he will be inducted for service in the Japanese American combat unit at Camp Shelby.
• George Inagaki Will Enter Military Service in Minnesota Shortly, by P.C. Staff, page 2. George Inagaki, chief resettlement officer of the National JACL, has volunteered for military service and expects induction at a Minnesota training camp. He is being replaced by Dr. T. T. Yatabe in Chicago.
• American Legion Posts in Arkansas Fete Volunteers, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Legionnaires from nearby posts joined Jerome center legionnaires in a send-off dinner for 36 volunteers bound for the Japanese American combat team at Camp Shelby. Richard Itanaga spoke of volunteering out of loyalty as Americans.

Incarceration & Redress

• Army Guards Withdrawn From Inner Relocation Camp Areas, by P.C. Staff, page 1. Military police sentries are being withdrawn from inner boundaries of Topaz between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., except for one main gate sentry. The change followed the fatal shooting of resident James Hatsuki Wakae on April 11.
• Japanese Americans Were Not Dangerous to National Safety, Loyalty of Nisei Evacuees Told by WRA Official in Seattle, by P.C. Staff, page 2. WRA assistant national director R. B. Cozzens told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer that American-born Japanese have proven loyal, with the troublesome cases mostly among Kibei educated in Japan. He stated that most Japanese language instructors volunteering for the army came from the loyal group.
• Camp Confinement Damages Initiative, Says WRA Official, by P.C. Staff, page 2. John W. Powell of Poston told the National Conference of Social Work that Japanese Americans were not dangerous and that camp confinement destroys initiative and wastes skilled evacuees. He described the desert barracks and the workers’ developing WPA attitude.
• Five at Poston Get Jail Terms, by P.C. Staff, page 3. Two Kobayashi brothers were sentenced to six months for resisting an FBI agent during a camp cleanup, and three others received 60-day terms for theft of camp food. The sentences were handed down by Judge David W. Ling in Phoenix.
• Contract Exonerated by Evacuation: California Appellate Tribunal Orders Retrial of Oshiro Test of Evacuee Property Rights, by A. L. Wirin, page 3. A California appellate court ordered a retrial in the Oshiro case, where a Japanese tenant leasing a Los Angeles hotel sought relief from lease obligations after evacuation. The JACL filed an amicus brief, and Presiding Judge Minor Moore argued the tenant should be fully exonerated.

JACL

• Dr. Yatabe to Aid JACL in Chicago Area, by P.C. Staff, page 2. Dr. T. T. Yatabe, former JACL national president, will take over the National JACL Chicago office, replacing George Inagaki, who is entering military service. Fumi Yaki and Utako Takasu also transferred to Chicago to assist.

Commentary

• Sonoma Grange Lauds Gen. DeWitt’s Recent Statement, by P.C. Staff, page 2. The Pomona Grange of Sonoma County endorsed DeWitt’s opposition to returning evacuees to the Pacific coast. The grange claimed a million acres of farmland were controlled by alien and American-born Japanese before evacuation.
• Editorial: The Tokyo Executions, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial condemns Japan’s execution of American prisoners of war as barbarism and vows to pursue unconditional military victory. It states that Japanese Americans have pledged their efforts toward that victory.
• Editorial: Freedom for Nisei Soldiers, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial welcomes Public Proclamation No. 17, which lifted travel restrictions for nisei soldiers in uniform. It notes the contradiction with DeWitt’s recent statements and argues the nisei’s destiny depends on soldiers fighting for democracy.
• Nisei Future, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial argues that the nisei problem is part of a longer pattern of minority persecution, drawing parallels with the Chinese and Negro experience. It urges nisei to recognize that their future is tied to that of all Americans.
• The Relocation Press, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial traces the evolution of center newspapers from simple bulletins to well-edited papers providing leadership. It argues that a complete newspaper must interpret and advocate, not merely report.
• Firing Squads in Tokyo, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The editorial places Japan’s execution of American aviators within the militarist rise of Tojo, recalling the assassinations and suppression of democratic voices in Japan. It draws on the writer’s 1936 visit to Tokyo to describe the surveillance and terror.
• On Semantics, by P.C. Staff, page 4. The column notes the difficulty headline writers face finding a short term for Americans of Japanese descent. It quotes the Heart Mountain Sentinel on the problem.
• Letter to Volunteers, by P.C. Staff, page 4. Senator Abe Murdock of Utah wrote to Topaz volunteers stating that as a senator he represents all citizens, not only voters. The letter was reprinted from the Topaz Times.
• Vagaries, by P.C. Staff, page 5. This column collects brief items on the California Fair Play Committee, nisei soldiers awarded the Legion of Merit, congressional junkets to relocation centers, and other news. It also notes Winchell’s story of a Japanese acrobat turned soldier.
• From the Frying Pan: The Nisei Press Is Coming of Age, by Bill Hosokawa, page 5. Hosokawa argues the nisei press has matured since evacuation, moving from social bulletins to editorially strong papers. He credits the Pacific Citizen and center newspapers with providing needed leadership.
• A Trade Union View: Move to Deport U.S. Nisei Endangers Other Minorities, by George Blumenson, page 5. Blumenson, a union secretary, argues that proposals to deport American citizens of Japanese descent set a dangerous precedent threatening other ethnic groups. He calls for unionizing Japanese workers and for federal investigation of individual disloyalty rather than mass action.
• Ann Nisei: Easy-to-Make Accessories Add That Spring Look, by Ann Nisei, page 6. Ann Nisei offers simple patterns for a ribbon bow hat, instant lapel pins, and a white organdy jabot. She also explains how to convert a shirt pattern into a dickey.

Community

• Kobayashis of Poston Arrive to Take Jobs on Ickes Farm, by P.C. Staff, page 3. The Kobayashi brothers and their wives arrived in Maryland to work on the Ickes and Sam Rice farms, drawing press attention. The group are trained poultry farmers from California Polytechnic Institute.
• Calling All Chapters!, by Teiko Ishida, page 6. The JACL column acknowledges a $1000 contribution from the Portland Chapter and a $25 donation, and reports local resettlement aid fundraising. It also notes staffing changes at the national office and the Chicago reopening.
• Eugene Kono Speaks to Des Plaines Post of Veterans’ Group, by Joe Oyama, page 6. Eugene Kono and violinist Sakiko Shiga were guests at the Des Plaines American Legion Post 26 meeting. Kono described his experiences after evacuation and answered questions from the floor.
• Art Students Establish League, by P.C. Staff, page 7. Heart Mountain art students formed a branch of the Los Angeles Art Students’ League, with about 250 enrolled. Their exhibits drew more than 3,000 viewers in the first three days.
• California ‘Little Dies’ Group Charges Evacuees Pampered, by P.C. Staff, page 7. A report by Senator Jack Tenney’s committee and the American Legion charged that evacuees are overly pampered and recommended placing relocation centers under army control. It also recommended Americanization classes and segregating subversive evacuees.
• Poston Issues Printed Paper: Chronicle Is First to Be Printed Inside War Relocation Center, by P.C. Staff, page 7. The Poston Chronicle became the first center newspaper printed on site in a WRA relocation center. Staff and print shop operations were described.
• Evacuees Get Exemption on Property Tax, by P.C. Staff, page 8. California Attorney General Robert Kenny ruled that evacuees who left the state remain eligible for the $100 householder’s personal property tax exemption. He reasoned the same rule must apply to others compelled to move by the war.
• Rivers Co-op Incorporated, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The Gila River center’s cooperative was incorporated as Gila River Cooperative Enterprises, Inc., and licensed in Arizona. Inventory and liabilities grew between December 1942 and February 1943, with no change in policy.
• Wyoming Clubmen Ask for Passes for Volunteers, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The Cody Lions Club asked the Heart Mountain administration to give volunteers passes to freely visit Park County pending induction. The request was reported in the Heart Mountain Sentinel.
• Arizona Firm Files Under New Law of State, by P.C. Staff, page 8. The Phoenix accounting firm Rogers and Bailey became the first to register with the Arizona secretary of state under a new law requiring registration of those doing business with restricted Japanese. The firm audits accounts of the Gila River Co-operative.
• Youth Escapes From Hospital, by P.C. Staff, page 8. Kiyoshi Okubo and Richard Whitmore escaped Agnew State Hospital and spent a day in Palo Alto before police arrested them. They had registered at a hotel and cashed a check before being caught while making a phone call.

Arts & Entertainment

• Brothers Under the Skin: Carey McWilliams’ New Book Discusses Related Problems of Non-Caucasian Minorities, by Robert R. Tsuda, page 5. Robert Tsuda reviews Carey McWilliams’ book, which frames race relations as a problem of high visibility and cultural adjustment across minority groups. The reviewer calls it a must-read despite some disagreements.

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