Founded Oct. 15, 18211
March 18, 1983 Pacific Citizen 130c Postpaid I The National Publication of the Japanese American Citizens league :-'ew ' 2An ISSN : 0030-3579/ Whole No. 2,230 / Vol. 96 No. LO Stand "" Editorials on CWRIC: Steering public opinion? In reaction to the recent release of the report, "Personal mendation will be a task even more difficult than the one ac• JACL Headlines ••• Justice Denied," by the Commission on Wartime Relocation complished with the publication of this powerful and moving and Internment of Civilians, newspapers across the country history of a shameful time." have published editorials commenting on the World War II The Baltimore SlDl said March 2 that, perhaps, if the issue of San Jose fetes its 60th year internment of Nikkei. interning Japanese Americans had been more strongly debated ... Of the editorials received from readers ofthe Pacific Citizen in public in 1942, it might have been prevented: L.A. Mayor to address PSWOC meeting so far, just about all of the articles acknowledge the CWRIC's "Some might question the need to re-examine continually the ... conclusion that a "grave injustice" was done to Japanese Arne- nation's mistakes. It is possible to develop a morbid oOOession ricans during World War II. But on the issue of reparations, few with the past. But if reasonably employed, backward glances Hayashi scholarship information could offer any concrete suggestions, but many felt that some can help a nation avoid repetitions in the future. The lesson we Page 8 form of redress was due. learn frQm re-reading the story of the Japanese Americans in The question as to whether or not these editorials will produce wartime America is that it is easy to get caught up in mass any favorable public opinion toward redress for the former movements and that it is dangerously wrong for democratic internees remains to be answered. societies to allow great issues to go undebated." JACL's Redress Guidelines New York Times The Sun even admitted that during World War IT, it "went ... York Times, 1 The New in an editorial March entitled, "How along with the hysteria" and even published an editorial during Marin president raps Hayakawa to Atone for 'War Hysteria,' " said that the CWRIC's conclu- that time which insisted that "the Bill of Rights ls seasonal." It Page 9 sions were "oot novel," noting that as early as 1945, Eugene concluded: - Rostow wrote that the internment was motivated by "ignorant '''We don't know that an open debate would have swayed · race prejudice, not facts." public opinion to the point that President Roosevelt would have NcWNP's Nakashima: On joining JACL The TimeS, however, pointed out, "What is 'news, and im- sought other means, consistent with ~ Constituion, to deal Pagel~ portant; is that an arm of Govenunent has finally condemned with the Japanese American 'problem' brought about by Pearl this sad chapter of history." Harbor and World War IT. But it might have. Or the Supreme Regarding reparations, the Times felt that some form of, Co~ might have o~erruled FD~, instead of up~l~g him. : "symbolic atonement" is due, ooting: Preslde!lts tend to listen to public debates" and ~usti~s are , "Witnesses before the commission were split over the feasibi- al~ays influenced .by 'the court of last resort, public opllll ~n. Japan press relates CWRIC's lity of individual reparations; it has deferred any proposals toa In. th~ next.crlSlS, when the mobs say we m~ sacnfice later report. In our view, symbolic atonement would be most C?nstItutional flg~ts, we hoI>E: ~ defer:tders of traditI~na1 Ame• work to U.S.-Japan relations appropriate--like a scholarship fund for Japanese American ncc:m values of liberty and Justl~e ~ill be as COnspICUOUS by students. An even more important way to make amends would th.err loudness~ the~ were.by therr s~ence:tO y~ ago. Other• TOKYO-Newspapers here both expressed the view that, be to set forth principles against a recurrence of the tragedy. ~1Se , the mob ~ WID a~am. S<:metunes silenc~ IS golden, ~ut apparently feel that the re• perhaps, the CWRIC's work These could hold the nation to an ideal for which many Ameri- m debates of this so~ , silen~ IS yellow. That 15 the end~ cent findings of the u;s. Com• might be able to contribute to cans thought they fought in World War IT: that the rights of lesson of the relocation and internment of Japanese Amen- mission on Wartime Reloca• better U.S.-Japan relations. citizenship in no way depend on race or ancestry." cans." tion and Internment o( Civil• '!be. Mainichi, in an editori• al March 1, drew a parallel Washington Post In Ohio, the Akron Beacoo Journal published a cartoon by ians may have some positive The Washington Post, which had run a series of articles on the artist Chuck Ayers on Feb. 28 depicting President Franklin D. effects on the present state of between the racist policies internment camps prior to the CWRIC's announcement of its Roosevelt sitting·atop imprisoned Nikkei (below) and saying; p.~.-J~relatio~. that existed in both Japan and fmdings, said March 2 that the Commission's study was a "pow- " 120,000 Japanese Americans interned ...a number that will 1be CWRIC's aIDlounce• the U.S. during World War IT: erful indictment of a shameful wartime policy." live in infamy. " ment of its firDings 00 Feb. 24 "Racial discrimination, But the Post couldn't offer any recommendations for re- The Journal also ran an editorial March 1 with the heading, . received front-page coverage wartime mass hysteria and lack of leadership in states• dressing the issue: . "Paying Nisei would not absolve U.S. of blame. " Citing some of from the English-language . ':What should be don~ to ~mpensate Japanese Am~ncan the CWRIC's fmdings (such as the fact that the Nikkei commit• Asahi Evening News, The men--such sorry elements ~ltIzens who suffer~ d~mg this time? Two, who were children . ted no acts of espionage or sabotage during World War II and Daily Yomiuri am the Mai• were evident not only in Ja• · m the camps, now sit m Congress. Others have recovered ~d that German and Italian Americans were not interned en nichi Daily News. pan but in the United States thrived, but surely the ~cars of such ':lljust treatment by thelf masse) the Journal wrote : - Editoi1als appearing in the during World_\!ar}I." · own government remam. Some receIved money damages ~ or "So the war hysteria argument was overblown. And racism is Mainichi am the Yomiuri Continued on Page 3 property losses that could be proved. B~t what com~tion indefensible in any context. The United States was clearly ·can there be for loss of respect, education, opportunities and wrong. The question now is what is to be done about it. three .years of one's ~e? .The. commission ~d .not address .the continued on Pagel Fund rai'ser slated for . questIon 6f compensatlOn m this report, but It will be the subject of a flnal dorument later this year. Formulating that recom- coram nobis petitioners Used by Permission-Akron Beacon Journal LOS ANGEIES-Acommunity reception will be held on Thurs• day, March 31 to honor and support Gordon Hirabayashi, Fred Korematsu and Minoru Yasui for their historic defense of con• stitutional rights of Japanese Americans. The event will be held at the Miriwa- Restaurant, 750 North Hill Street in'Chinatown 120,000 from 6-8 p.rn. . . JAPANESE-AMERICANS The "Los Angeles Reception in Support of the Writs of Coram Nobis" is sponsored by the Japanese American Bar Associa• INTERNEO ... A NUMBER tion, Pacific Southwest District JACL, Japanese Arnerican De• mocratic Club, Little Tokyo Business Association, Japanese WHICH WIlL LtVE 1M Chamber of Commerce of Southern California, and Japanese INFAMY. American Republican Club. An award presentation will be made to all three miividuals by the sponsoring organizations, HirabaY3shl, Korematsu and Yasui were convicted and ~ prisoned for violating World War II curfew and evacuation orders. They were defendants in the landmark U.S. Supre~e Court cases which upheld the legality of the curfew, evacuation and the incarceratim of 110,000 Japanese Americans based on a finding of "military necessity." The three individuals have now tiled petitions for writs of error coram nobis in the Federal District Courts to reverse their convictions on the grounds that they were denied a fair trial. . . . The three petitioners allege that newly discovered eVIdence, most of which was pr.eviously "classified," reveals that u.S. military and government leaders intentionally suppressed, al• tered am destroyed material evidence in order to justify the mass evacuation and imprisorunent, even though the FBI, Naval Intelligence and Army Intelligence had concluded that no security threat existed. They contend that the government's claims that the rurfew and evacuation were required by "mili• tary necessity" because Japanese Americans as a racial group were "disloyal" am members of an "enemy race" who had Continued on Next Page nurseries in Southern California: He had 20 acres of choice land on Wilshire and SepulVeda. He CWRIC Report: Economic Loss had very choice customers [such] as Will Rogers and Shirley Temple's parents .. .because he had specimen trees ... But wealth (Part D) began to ch~r · various vessels. The purse-seine net was my and standing did not save my father from being arrested .. .on the Tbe Impact ofEv..,.ptiop investment in the business and at that time valued around $8,000. night of December 7, 1941. When ...9066 mandated that all Japa• Today the same net would cost in the neighborhood of $5O,Im.... nese were to evacuate, we were faced with the awesome task of Evacuees repeatedly pointed out that they had had little time in which Every cent 1 owned was invested in my fishing equipment, and 1 what to do. And my mother on her own without father, fathe!: taken to setUe their affairs: had to store it in the family garage knowing it would deteriorate to Missoula, was not able to consult him. We dido't know what to We had about two weeks, I recall, to do something. Either lease and be worthless within a few years." do. You cannot get rid of large nurseries-nursery stock-at this the property or sell everything. a- short notice. So what did she do but she gave all of the nursery While in Modesto, the fmal notice for evacuation came with a For many evacuees the most immediate, painful loss was their profit from what promised to be a bumper crop in 1942. The parents of Jack stock to the U.S. Government, the Veterans Hospital which was four day notice." Fujimoto lost the proceeds from an abundant crop of cucumbers and adjoining the nursery. It was written up in the local newspaper We were given eight days to liquidate our possessions." berries which they were unable to harvest before evacuation in May. along with the story of our evacuation. Itemized piece by piece the ~ I remember how agonizing my despair to be given only Instead, the caretaker benefitted from the hard work of this couple who dollar amount ... totalled $100,000 in 1942." about six days in which to dispose of our property and personal had tilled the soil without much success unW then. The Fujimotos never The loss of hard-earned farm machinery was also very bitter; a Los possessioos. :r7 heard from thecaretaker.31 Angeles witness told his family's story: Testimony emphasized that the governmental safeguards were never Hiroshi Kamei recounted: The loss, not only in property, but also potential harvest was entirely su~ul; they began late, and information about the programs considerable and all-important to our family. What I remember was never widely disseminated amoog evacuees; the evacuees also dis• My family's greatest economic loss was loss of standing crops. most was my father who had just purchased a Fordson Tractor for trusted even a quasi-governmental body. The protection and manage• We had several acres of celery just about ready for harvest ... about $750 a few months prior to the notice. ment of the property and personals many evacuees left behind was Several weeks after our evacuation) the price of celery jumped up Imagine his delight, after a lifetime of farming with nothing but to about $5 or $6 a crate ... inadequate. Businessmen were forced to dispose of their inventory and a horse, plow, shovel and his bare hands, to fInally be able to use business at distress prices. It was difficult for evacuees to get reasonable Another described how he had worked on his farm until he was evacuated, such a device. He fmally had begun to achieve some success. A prices in a hostile marketplace. Individuals sold their personal belong• but his crop had been harvested by strangers and he himself recei ved no dream was really coming true. ings in a buyer's market, realizing only a fraction of their worth. return for his labor and time." . He had much to look forward to. Then came the notice, and his The makeshift warehouses which evacuees used-homes, garages and The white growers and shippers who expanded in the wake of the prize tractor was sold for a measley $75." other structures-were vandalized; the goods frequently stolen or des• evacuation did very well in 1942. The managing secretary of the Western The exclusion and evacuation seriously disrupted the agricultural ec()• troyed. Often those who had agreed 10 serve as caretakers for the evac• Growers Protective Association summed up matters at the end of the nomy of California and led the government to exhort those suspected of year: uees' property mulcted them in various ways. Some who had found disloyalty to produce food for war needs until the fInal moment when they tenants for their property discovered, to their sorrow and fmancialloss, A very great dislocation of our iOOustry occurred when the Japa• were thrown off their land. The Secretary of Agriculture had established that the promised rent never appeared or that tenants did not continue the nese were evacuated from Military Zones ooe and two in· the previous land use; many disposed of evacuees' property as their own, or Pacific Coast Areas, and although as shipping groups these WsI<>• COntinued on Page 7 simply abandooed it. cations were not so severe the feeding of the cities in close proxi• The evacuees' losses mounted as their exclusion from the West Coast mity to large Japanese truck farm holdings was considerable and lengthened. Some evacuees became aware of the destruction of their shortages in many commodities developed and prices skyrocket• property while they were still in relocation centers; others only dis• ed to abnost unheard of values. This, coupled with increased covered the full extent of their losses upon their return home. The loss of buying power in practically every district of the· United States, time, of potential and of property were to many of the evacuees irrepar• also brought to the growers and shippers most satisfactory prices able blows-flOall tal blows from which many never wholly recovered. on abnost every commodity shipped from California and Agriculture and Fishing Arizona ....40 The greatest impact of the mass exclusion and evacuation was felt in For many families who owned nurseries, evacuation occurred near one agriculture, where the Nikkei's economic contribution was ~oncentrated . ofthe richest days in the flower business-Mother's Day, which accounts In 1940, 45% of those gainfully employed among the 112,353 persons of for one-fifth of th~ annual sale of flowers . With the Mother'S Day crop Japanese descent living in the three Pacific Coastal states were engaged about to be harvested, evacuation upon short notice caused obvious ftnan- in growing crops. Another 18% were employed in wholesaling, retailing, cial hardship: , and transporting food products. Census figures show thai nearly tw<>• The hardest thing to lose was the full 1942 Mother's Day crop of thirds of the work force directly deperoed upon agriculture and that in the flowers which [had been] in process from Christmas time." three West Coast states, the value of the 6,118 fanns operated by Nikkei When No. 9066 evacuation came, most of the nurseries, with was $72,600,1m with an estimated $6 million worth of equipment in use." Mother's Day crop before them, were left with very precarious These farms represented 2.2% of the number and value of all farms in arrangements, or abandoned.42 the three West Coast states, but only .4% of all land in farms, and 1.5% of Many evacuees who had been in the flower and nursery business told all crop land harvested. The average farm was roughly 42 acres; 84% similar stories. Heizo Oshima described the voluntary evacuation of one were in California."" These figures give a misleading indication of the community of Japanese families in floriculture around Richmond, EI CORAM NOBIS FUNDRAISERS-Co-Chairpersons repre• importance of Nikkei farming. The average value per acre of all farms in Cerrito and San Pablo: 'senting the sponsoring organizations of ''The Los Angeles 1940 was $37.94; that of Nikkei farms was $279.96. Three out of every four Reception in Support of the Writs of Coram Nobis" are (I to r) : acres of evacuee farm land were under cultivatiOQ, while only one out of The evacuation of the Japanese in the Richmood and El Cerrito Fred Fujioka, president of the Japanese American Democratic every four acres of total farm land was planted in crops." Fruit, truck area came earlier than the Executive Order 9066. The Issei in this Club; Koshiro Torii, president of the Little Tokyo Business and specialty crops predominated. Much of their acreage was planted area were ordered to leave in February of '42 because they were Assn. ; Leslie Furukawa, president of the Japanese American and harvested two or more times a year." In California the Nikkei posed as a threat to the Standard Oil,plant in Richmond ... .Nisei Bar Assn.; Takeo Taiyoshi, chairman of the board ofthe LTBA; dominated the wholesale and retail distribution of fruits and vegetables. children remained behind to tend the nurseries . . . .The Japanese and Cary Nishimoto, governorofthe JACL's Pacific Southwest In Los Angeles County $16 million of the annual $25 million flower market in this community were very frightened and confused by the order District. business was in Nikkei hands." to evacuate the Issei." When the Japanese arrived in the United States they were at the bottom The Nisei children left in charge of the nurseries were untrained of the economic ladder. Gradually they saved mooey and were able to and unaccustomed to handling financial details ofthe family busi• FU N0 RAIS ER Cootinuedfrom F'roniPage rent or indirectly purchase cheap land. By working hard, living frugally ness. They were at a distinct disadvantage when they had to sell in committed acts of "espionage" were false and distorted. and with family'cooperation, they were able to increase their acreage. a market of rock bottom prices. Mary Ishizuka told of the heavy While the writs of coram nobis are distinguished from the The impact of evacuation is made rrore poignant by the fact that it cut loss suffered by her father, who in 1942 had one of the largest short the life and strength of the immigrants, frequently destroying the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civil• fruit of years of effort to overcome grindingly adverse Depression c·ondi• ians, which recently issued its report, (and other redress move• tions. Mary Tsukamoto described the yearly econmllC cycle many farm• ments) , the sponsors of the reception emphasize that the broad• ers followed, especially those around Florin, California: Puyallup Fair will get monument er significance of the coram nobis effort is that it provides a This was important, to have time to bring in their crops. The PUYALLUP, Wa.-The Puyallup $27,000 appropriation for i~ is to be means to overturn a dangerous precedent which allows tile U.S. money that they had borrowed from the stores and shipping com• Fair Board reversed itself March 7 spent before June 30, he saId. government to arbitrarily deny people their constitutional panies was a tremendous burden. They had to depend on the crop and decided a memorial to Japa• Tsutakawa has planned a bronze. rights based upon racism and wartime hysteria. and the harvest to pay for their debts before they could be free nese Americans interned at the abstract sculpture about 10 feet A group of attorneys from Los Angeles, San Francisco, Port• again. Each year this was the pattern. fairgrounds in 1942 will be erected high, depicting people of all ages land and Seattle have organized to form the "Committee to They had struggled hard through the Depression to come out of within the fairgrounds, not in the and races in harmony. Reverse the Japanese American Wartime Cases" for the sole parking lot across the street. Opposition to Tsutakawa's me• it, gradually some of them were beginning to payoff their mort• purpose of representing the three petitioners. The attdrneys gages. Many people still had mortgages to pay.3:J The board unaniJrously ap• morial came last July when the 1<>• Others also spoke of just beginning to recover from the e.ffects of the proved the initial proposal by in• cal post of the American Legion have volunteered thousands of hours of legal services to this Depression at the time they were forced to leave the West Coast. The ternationally known artist ·George passed a resolution claiming that cause and will continue to do so in the future. However, as west's expanding economy had enabled many to purchase new equip• Tsutakawa of Seattle for a bronze Japanese Americans went to the litigation escalates in the corning months, it is projected that ment or lease additional land and, in general, to raise their standard 0 sculpture and plaque to comme• internment camps "voluntarily" case costs will be in the tens of thousands of dollars. morate the intemmentofpeople of after refusing to relocate in the living. Henry Sakai's father had been a succe5$ful businessman: Japanese ancestry after Japan Midwest. The Legion asserted that The community is cordially invited to support this historical• He farmed during the Depression, and then he lost it all .: lit was bombed Pearl Harbor. relocation was necessary " to pr<>• ly significant cause. Hirabayashi , Korematsu and Yasui have too late to start over again ... ,. "I think it's terrific," said tect" the Japanese Americans. authorized the Asian Law Caucus, 'an Oakland-based legal Clarence Nishizu told of the gains his father and family had made aftel Thomas Takemura, of Puyallup. The resolution also questioned rights foundation, to r aise and disburse funds to help defray the Depression in which : "We're v.ery, very happy with the spending state funds for the me• expenses incurred in the coram nobis litigation. decision. " morial while veterans programs Contributions are being sought at the levels of Student• lthe] farmer receive [dJ 25¢ for a lug of tomatoes all packed, The board last month vetoed a are being cut. neatly selected as to size and color. I had to stay on the farm and memorial within the fairgrounds Merchants in downtown Puyal• $10.00 Friend-$35.00, Sponsor-$lOO. 00 , Patron-$250.00, or help on the farm. I had to go through those days we were too poor to because of protest letters, parti• lup also spoke against the Tsuta• any other amounts. All contributions of $100.00 or more will be have tractors-we had only proud horses and mules. However, cularly a letter from the American kawa memorial. acknowledged on the program for the event if the contributions toward the end of the thirties, I began to get [a] foothold .. .I had Legion, according to board presi• But Emi Somekawa, a Nisei re• are received by March 21st. The tax-deductible contribution two tractors, several trucks and pickups and was just beginning to dent Fred Weber. He described the gistered nurse, who was interned should be made payable to "Asian Law Caucus-Coram Nobis" make headway by using machinery in farming. I [had] just earlier decisioo to put the me• in Idaho said supporters of the me• and mailed c/o Eileen Kurahashi, 808 N. Spring Street, 9th bought a new K5 Internatkon Truck and a used 1941 Chevrolet morial in a parking lot as "a con• morial t.hink the fairgrounds is an Floor, Los Angeles, California 90012. For further information Sedan for $650.00 and loaded it 00 the new buck in Springfield, sensus of all of us. " appropriate site. Ohio and arrived home on December 5, 1941. Two days later, Pearl But the consensus apparently "We want people to know about contact Leslie Furukawa at (213 ) 627-7727. Harbor was bombed and the war started." collapsed in the face of national it and about the violation of our In Northern California and the Pacific Northwest, con- ~nstitutional rights, so it never One evacuee had followed in his father's footsteps as a commercial pUblicity. . tributions to the coram nobis effort can be sent to local ad• Tsutakawa said last month he can happen again. The constitution dresses. It should be noted that all contributions will go toward flshennan working the coastal waters off Monterey. He described. their would withdraw his sculpture couldn't protect us then, but. we struggle to keep their boat: rather than allow it to be erected in want it to protect other AmerIcan the legal fees for all three cases (Hirabayashi, Korematsu and We built one of the first purse seiners ...in 1929 just prior to the the parking lot, where many citizens in the future." Yasui). In Northem California, donations made out to the Great Depression of the 30's. My father retired and I struggled feared it would be defaced. The JACL PNWOC office had "Asian Law Caucus--Coram Nobis" may be sent to The Com• during thQSe years to keep the fmance company from repasses• Puyallup fair manager Bob issued to the fair board a rebuttal mittee to Reverse the Japanese American Wartime Cases, 1322 smg our boat a.!> not only our family but twelve crew members and Carlson said fmal wor9ing of the to the American Legion's resolu• Webster St.. Ste. 210, Oakland, Ca. 94612. In the Pacific North• tion. Most notably, the PNWDC of• their families depelXied on the continuing operation of the boat. plaque to accompany the sculp• west, contributions made to the Asian Law Caucus may be sent Because of the changes in the ~ustry, I sold the boat in 1935 and ture remains to be worked out, but fice corrected the Legion's belief construction of the memorial will that Nikkei "voluntarily" went to in care of the Seattle J ACL Office, 316 Maynard Ave S., Seattle, 2-PACIFIC anZEN I Friday, March 18, 1983 begin as soon as possible. The the internment camps. II Wa. 98104. have turned a blind eye to the World War II actions against slave labor force. About 1.5 Japanese racism against the lack ofleadership. Regarding atrocities committed during Koreans: million Koreans were forced , Koreans." present Japan-U.S. relations, the Sino-Japanese war and "During the war, the Japa- to do extremely dangerous The Mainichi then com- we feel that such a danger is HnW,PUoI>r, the Mainichi the Pacific theater of World nese government carried out work, but when the war ended mented: imminent because of the ~ the U.S. for its willing- War II." a mass movement of Koreans the government failed to treat "When a time of ditl1cUlty tensification of the trade fric- to, at least, look back at The Mainichi pointed out from their native land to Ja- them with justice. This was arises, racism tends to burst past errors, in light of Ja- the Japanese government's pan where they were kept as a also racial discrimination; into the open coupled with a COntinued on Page 5 rooent~oolliookco~ ....__ .. " __""" __ """ __ " __""""""""""""" ______"" ______"_ r I...... " ...... which involved revi- War II history: " .. .It is consoling, how• to learn that the U.S. has quite frank and courage• Disneyland. enough to admit its nUs• . presents of the past instead of ...... w to hide 'a long ugly his- of anti..Japanese agita- , The American attitude , a far cry from the Japanese who 'attempted to the lid on the ugly parts JaDanese history.' The text• which caused a big tonllffiOltion last year is a typi• case in point, and we are of our leaders who ROSE HILLS
March 19&20 flown in from Japan just for this special 9AM-9PM Disneyland event. And, you'll For two days every Spring, The be surrounded by the beauty and Happiest Place on Earth honors time-honored tradition of Japan. Folk the Land of the Rising Sun. Festival and classical dancing. Koto music. UCH ... Japan is back, March 19 & 20, with The exquisite crafts of origami and a dazzling nighttime display of wood carving.
convenience of a modern authentic Japanese fireworks. You'll So mark your calendar for mortuary. beautiful flower see a colorful Festival parade fea• March 19 & 20. Then spend some shop-and thoughtful, ')rofessional counselors who turing dancers and performers time in Japan, at Disneyland. Jnderstand a family's needs md budget. Rose Hills 'las served fan'lilies with jignity. understanding and :are for more than a =luarter of a century, Festival Japan ::'are-and convenience. Parade
So much more ... 5PM costs no more Japanese ROSE Fireworks Display HILLS 8PM MORTUARY at Rose Hills Memorial Park
3900 Workman Mill Road. Whittier. Callfomla (213) 699-0921 (714) 739-0601 ®
Friday, March 18. 1983 I Park Hours: Now Open Every Day. Monday thru Friday._lO AM -6 PM. Weekends. 9 AM· 9 PM. PACIFIC CI11ZY-3 German-Americans and Italian-Americans were not interned Nikkei former state and Los Angeles CoWlty employees wh EDITOR IALS enmlPd tun FndPage has always stood in telling contrast to the internment of the were dismissed from their jobs during World War II, and cor "The states involved and some federal agencies have already Japanese." - cluded, " Congress can-and should-do no less." made some modest compensation to victims of the intenunent. The editorial added: " Why all this should matter some four The Berkeley GazeUe, in its Feb. 18 issue, recalled that dw Further compensation will very likely come out of the commis• decades later derives from the fact that the wrong inflicted on ing the war, "Prevailing racial fears and hatred were as con sion's findings. innocent people has never been officially redressed whether it mon then to Berkeley as they were to most American towns ... "That hardly seems adequate. This country certainly owes a be in the form of an official apo logy , in some form of restitution The Gazette said that the CWRIC's work is " only a part ( debt to its Japanese Americans, and not only as repayment for or a combination of both. Moroover, it derives from the fact what has to be done," addi.{lg : this wrong. That group is and has been among our most solid that, even in times such as now , when we as a nation are " Just as important, and vastly more difficult than setting u citizens. Even during the war, when they had little reason to unquestionably more enlightened in many ways than a half• commissions and holding hearings, is the effort by individual serve or even trust the government, many young Japanese century ago, the specter of racism and its potential conse• not only to share responsibility in the action, but to share th Americans in the ~ps signed loyalty oaths to the United quences are not yet extinct. determination that such injustices will not be allowed to happe - States so they could enlist in a Nisei combat team, which served " I~ is that ever-present threat, together with the need to right again." with Allied forces in Europe and became one of America's most a grIevous wrong, that corrunands our attention to the un• The Sacramento Union said Feb. 28 that Rep. Robert T. Me highly decorated combat units. flnished business so rightfully resurrected by the commission's tsui (D-Sacramento) has cautioned Nikkei not to be too opt "If the corrunission has a lesson for us today, it is to recall the report." mistic about any irrunediate action from Congress on repar. internment hysteria to prevent a repeat of it in the future. The San Francisco Chronicle felt that "the mood of today (in tions. But the Union noted: " .. .Regardless of whether Col Undoing the wrong-after 40 years-is proving much more dif• America) was nofthe mood then (during World War 11) ." The gress tackles the issue of reparations or leaves it to the court! ficult than prevention. " Chronicle added that the " report's accurate hindsight was not Moving westward, The Salt Lake Tribune said Feb. 27 that available when wartime decisions were made in an atmosphere COntinued on Page the conditions of the 1940s should be taken into consideration not of hysteria, the word used in (the CWRIC's) report, but of when reviewing the evacuation, but the CWRIC's report can pervasive fear of attack ... " serve to prevent such an incident from repeating itself: Noting Japan's World War IT attacks on the Malay Peninsula, "Few people in 1983 would condone the crude property Hong Kong, Wake and Midway Islands, etc., the Chronicle seizure, the wrenching dislocation of families and other hard• concluded: ships inflicted on internees out of fear their Japanese heritage " Given those circumstances, it is little wonder that mistakes, would subvert their allegiance to a new homeland. But who even such gross mistakes as the internment of loyal citizens, would say, given similar circwnstances, that it couldn't happen were made. Such mist~es occur at any time a nation is in• again?" . vol ved in a fight for its life. They occur when fear is a dominant Because the rights of minorities were severely limited during force throughout a society. And this, indeed, may be the most that era, the Tribune said that "the shocking" attack on Pearl valuable lesson to be learned from the detention post-mortem. Harbor and fears of further assaults on the U.S. Mainland " ~he story is tragic and sad' and the nation has now given "stirred rassions and overwhelmed reason." partIal apology. War for survival breeds such tragedies." "Political leaders were either swept up in the tide of anxiety, Neither the Chronicle nor the San Francisco Examiner made or were reluctant or unable to stand against it," said the Tr-i• any suggestions for redress. The Examiner, of the once anti• bune, which concluded : Japanese Hearst newspaper chain, offered this comment: Checking at Sumitomo "No doubt many of those whose decisions led to the mass "After a three-year study of that occurrence (the intern• internments and their unwarranted prolongation believed their ment), with all of its painful ramifications, the Commission on Earns Greater Interest. actions were in the national interest and even for the safety of Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians has drawn a those uprooted and confmed far from their homes. In hindsight, sobering, shaming picture of a 'grave injustice,' to the end that Sumitomo's Super Checking* gives you all the what they did was wrong. But there is little to suggest that they such de~al of rights and due process never will happen again. advantages of a checking account and more. Earn acted from base motives or with cruel intent. The natIOn should ~e a promise to itself in that respect. " the highest interest Sumitomo has ever offered on "It is this recognition that normally decent leaders and ordi• , San Jose Mercury checking by maintaining an average balance of narily peaceful people can be incited or misled to inflict the The San Jose Mercury had written an editorial on Nov. 22, $2,500. Enjoy unlimited check-writing privileges, gross injustices the report docwnents, that makes the belated 1982, prior to the CWRIC's release of its fmdings. The Mercury have the safety of FDIC insurance, and of course, fmdings both chilling and instructive. felt that some monetary compensation was due: use our statewide network of Automated Teller "The commission's work is not so much an official admission "It is true that money paid 40 years after an injury will never Machines to deposit, withdraw or transfer funds. that thousands of loyal citizens were brazenly mistreated and equate to perfect justice. What is possible, and what Congress Our ATM transactions can be as fast as 12 seconds. their rights flagrantly violated, but is more pointedly an abun• should have the courage to do, even in the face of a prolonged dantly footnoted plea that in future, analogous situations, the economic recession, is to make a substantial acknowledgement Inquire at your nearest branch office for same mass hysteria fueled by umerlying prejudices won't pre• of natiqnal wrongdoing. Saying we're sorry and letting it go at information about Sumitomo Super Checking. vail once more. " that is not enough. It is too easy, and it sidesteps the principle - California that a person has a right to be compensated for injury. '*Individuals, sole proprietors, governmental units and Beginning with Northern and Central California, the Sacra• "We have no magic numbers to offer the commission when it certain nonprofit organizations are eligible for ~~~!1i0f!S re~.£l. mento Bee, Fresno Bee and the Modesto Bee all ran the same rpeets ... to approve of its}inal It would Sumitomo Super Checking. editorial (because the three are published by McClatchy N ews• cost the government an estimated $1.5 billion to give each of the papers) shortly after the CWRIC released its report on Feb. 24, 60,000 internment camp survivors $25,000; some smaller, but and, like The Baltirmre Sun, the editorial pointed out that the nonetheless substantial, amount would probably do just as well. .• Sumitomo Bank newspapers themselves had contributed to the wartime hys• And we believe reparations should be paid only to camp survi• teria which led to the internment: vors, not to their estates or to some community organization or "The net effect of this damning report by a bipartisan com• foundation. The wrong done was personal; the amends for it mission should be to discredit once and for all the contention, should be equally personal. Sumitomo Bank of California Member FDIC. still maintained by many, that the internment was somewhat The Mercury also pointed ou~~e recent reparations made to justified 'under the circumstances.' Even now, a former presi• dent of the Native Sons of the Golden West, one of the organiza• tions singled out by the commission for 'political bullying' of ethnic Japanese, dismisses the panel's flndings. The racial cli• mate of that time, not only among ordinary bigots but also among a number of respected institutions and public figures-- . including this newspaper--contributed to the hysteria. That Controversial judge ATM touch ... Shimatsu, Ogata in Hawaii reSigns . ~ • withdraw cash • make deposits • make and Kubota HONOLULU-A circuit court judge who was mysteriously in• loan payments • transfer money Mortuary jured 17 months ago has resigned between your accounts from his post, the Hooolulu Ad• . . . and check your 911 Venice Blvd. vertiser reported Mar. 3. Circuit Judge Harold Shintaku, availab.le balances Los Angeles 55, pointed out that "permanent 7~9-l~~9 and irreversable" injuries to his eyesight and hearing were the rea• ~l:.lJ I OL'h.l:. OG. \ L\ sons for his decision to step down. H. YLT,\K,\ hL 130 L\ Shintaku had been Wlder fIre from a group called Citizens for Improved Judiciary after his con• ---- .. troversial acquittal of a man con• victed in a double murder. The Thtee Generationa judge himself had been arrested 01 Experience .. . on charges of drunken driving, to Apply for your which he subsequently pleaded guilty. ATM access card today. FUKUI On Oct. 7, 1001, the day after Mortuary, Inc. Shintaku was arrested for drunken driving, the judge was found in his 707 E. Temple SI MokuJeia beach cottage suffering CALIFORNIA I Los Angeles. CA 90012 s~ere head injuries. FIRST BANK 626-0441 The police have never deter• Member FDIC mined how Shintaku was injured. California First Bank. 1982 Gerald Fukui, PreSIdent Shintaku maintained he was as• saulted; the police theorized that Nobuo Osumi, Counsel/or the judge had attempted t "om• mit suicide. 4-PACIFICC ITIZE Friday, March 18,1983 future." 38 long years after the war to couraged to leave the camps fIculties. ' U.S.-Asia Institute U.S.-JAPAN compile this report. Nearly The Asahi Evening News for the Midwest and the "In this sense, American CGIdiDued from Page 3 half of the l2A),OOO U.S. citizens briefly commented on the Eastern Seaboard for em• society has not really probes media topics tion between the two ~f Japanese ancestry relocat• CWRIC report, and. said on ployment. And many younger changed. The same tendency WASHINGTON- "The Com• countries. ed and interned are already Feb. 28, "There is the courage people responded. discover• is still there. To the average munications Revolution : Key to "Racism against minori• dead. We have nc) way of con• here to recognize a past mis• ing 'the rest of America. ' that American, it seems, there is U.S.-Asia Relations" will be the veying them the joy of vin• take in policy as a blot, and focus of a conference co-sponsored ties has greatly been toned to is, the regions other than the no difference between an by the U.S. Asia Institute and the down in the United States in dicated honor and restored these words make us feel that three West Coast states.' American whose ancestors U.S. Department of Slate on April the face of the angry cries for rights. American democracy is still On the issue of reparations, happen to have come from 21-22. liberation of the black people. "At the same time, the strong anc;i healthy." the Times felt that perhaps Japan many many decades It must be noted, oowever, reader has to appreciate the Japan Times the CWRIC was "wise" in not ago and the citizens of Japan Topics will include: The Current that a good many Japanese virtues and strength of U.S. The Japan Times said that recommending payments at today. Slate of Policymaking in the U:S. Americans still encounter dis• democracy indicated by the the CWRIC's fmdings offer "a this time: "That the activities of the and Asia; The Domestic Com• fact that even though it was precious lesson to leaders of munications Network; Changing crimination in one form or an• "The commission report, commission brought out this Communications Markets in East other, thus racism is still late in the day, the Americans Japan." wisely, avoided making refer• fact, however, is a vicarious Asia . an~ the U.S. and its Legal deeply rooted in American s0- looked back on their past mis• The T.imes commented on ences to monetary compensa• achievement. Its real signifi• ImplicatIOns; International C0- ciety. The present trade fric• deeds and passed a fair am the CWRIC's views on the use tion despite the fact that the cance is to be found in the fact operation in Communications De• tion serves to inflame the rac• frank judgment on this 'black of the term "concentration inquiry body was set up by the that an official body, though a velopment; and Views for the Fu• ture of Communications. ism against the Japanese and mark' in America's history. camp" : Congress primarily to deter- temporary commission cre• Japanese Americans. We know no instance of a com• " ... By the same token, the mine what kind of redress ated under pressure from an Speakers will include Secretary "Norman Mineta, a Japa• munist regime or dictatorship (CWRIC) report corrected should be made. interest group, did acknow• of Slate George Shultz, FCC Chair nese American member of the acknowledging past injus• the mislabeling of the war re- " We say 'wisely' because ledge faults in the official past Mark Fowler, Undersecretary of U.S. House of Representa• tices. " location center(s) as 'concen- recommendations for pay• of the government. It, in fact, Commerce Lionel Olmer and Asst. The Yomiuri also felt that Secretary of Slate for East Asia tives, visited Japan recently tration camp(s), as of 'the ment to the survivors of the offers a precious lesson to Paul Wolfowitz. and was quoted as saying that after the war, Nikkei have at• phrase, concentration camp,' relocation program would leaders of Japan." , # . For more info call (202 )466-6124. 'fourth-generation Japanese" tained some degree of success says the report, 'sununons up have exacerbated the hostili• Americans are called 'Japs' in the area of social status. images and ideas which are ty that has been generated in in school and that speeches However, U.S. hostility t OUR WAY IS THE OUR WAY IS THE For details, flight information and CONVENIENT WAY. COMFORTABLE WAY. reservations, call your travel • 37 nonstops to Japan every • Wide cabin 747 service. agent, corporate travel SERVING JAPAN week: • Sleeper seats in First Class. department or Northwest Orient. Chicago to Tokyo • Executive Class sleeper seats FROM MORE OF Seattle/Tacoma to Tokyo in the private upper deck or AMERICA THAN Los Angeles to Tokyo separate, preferred seating on OUR WAY: Working hard. Honolulu to Tokyo our main deck with movies and Doing things better. Serving ANY OTHER New York to Tokyo more. Executive Class sleeper Japan from more of America Honolulu to Osaka seats are limited and must be than any other airline for AIRLINE. • Nonstops from Tokyo to Osaka, reserved in advance. more than 35 years. That's Seoul, Okinawa, Guam, Taipei, • Regal Imperial inflight cuisine the Northwest Orient Way. Manila and Hong Kong, and hospitality all the way. • Same-airline service to Japan • Japanese-speaking personnel from 56 U. S. cities. available in reservations and on ~NORTI-tWEST board most flights. ORIENT THE WORLD IS GOING OUR ~ . ~~_"'_~y'" __ _ Friday, March 18, 1983 / PACIFIC CITIZEN-5 ISSN: 0030-8579 Letters Letters to the Editor (200 words max) on items appearing in the PC Pacifi\; Citizen are welcomed. PublIShed by the Japanese Amencan CctIZens League every Fnday except the first and last weeks of the year at 244 S. San Pedro St., Los Angeles. CA 90012; (213) 626- 6936. • 2nd Class paslage paid at Los Angeles. CA .• AnroaI SUbscnp~ACL members: $9.00 01 naIJonaJ dues provides one-year on a per-household basis. Non· • CWRIC Report members: $16, payable In Idfance. ForeIgn addresses: Add U.S.58 • N_s oropomons Editor: exp«lSSed by ootumnlSts OIher than JACl stall do not necessanly reflect JACL 1"" - "'Iur ed... vilal in I..ltl t-'adfic C' Floyd O. Shmornura. NatJOOal JACL PreSIdent ~March ttlnry S Sakal, PC Board ChaIr lZell 4) makes reference to General Manager/OperabOns. Harry K. Honda the report on the Conunission on Edrtor. Peter A. lmamura Wartime Relocation and Intern• Adver1ISJng .Jane M. O~ ment of Civilians with a comment, Qra.lIabon. Tom Hoshlzakl, Mrtsuko Sak81 TypesetIJl1Q : Mary fmon. MalllIlQ: Mark S8lto " .. .some Nikkei might feel that the CWRIC report really doesn't contain anytlling 'new' since much of the information in it has been EDITORIALS CootiDuedfromP8le5 docwnented in several history as rapidly as possible. It would seem that convicting people of books." That may be true oot the real I disloyalty to our country witMut having specific evidence significance of the report is the I against them is too foreign to our way of life and too close akin to fact that it is the first and only the kind of government we are fighting. IT we are not willing to report of an official federal gov• run any risks and cannot have faith in humanity and regard enunent investigation of the evac• \ people innocent until they are proved guilty, we are on the road uation and internment experience. to losing our democracy." As such the report carries immea• surably more weight than any pre• We needed Pug Henry The Register's recent editorial pointed out that Hoiles, who vious publication on the subject. It on our-side. died in 1970, was "a crusty individualist who took the ideas of undoubtedly will serve as the basic limited government, personal freedom and the rights of indivi• reference to which scholars will duals seriously. He tried to look at people as individuals rather turn when they study this episode than as members of a group or race. He was suspicious of in our history. Public school his• tory textbooks will also rely hea• government power. Right or wrong, diplomatic or painfully vily on the report as a reference for blunt, he had the integrity to follow his ideas to conclusions he the evacuation and internment ex• believed logical and the courage to stand against the tide in perience. • However •.. war hysteria am a failure of po1- "Manzanar, the first often such expressing them. " In addition, the work of the Com• Editor: iticalleadership ... " concentration camps was bounded mission is a positive example of The Register then concluded: The report summary ofthe Com• The historic plaque No. 850 dedi• by barbed wire and guard towers "We like to hope that his spirit still permeates this news• the democratic process in action cated on April 14, 1973 by the Man• confming lO, ...... ".raTIIE FRYING PAN: by Bm Hosokawa Lifting the Stigma of 'Disloyalty' Denver, Colo. cia! prejudice, war hysteria and failure of political lead• (;ongress: To determine whether an injustice had been The report of the Commission on ership" was responsible, and a "grave injustice" had done by the Evacuation, and if so, to recommend the Wartime Relocation and .Internment been done. form of redress. of Civilians, released Feb. 24 after a Of course those of us who were the victims knew that The Commission has now discharged the fIrst respon• year and a half of work, shows beyond an injustice had been done, and we believed that race sibility. So far, it is silent on the second and small won• doubt the wisdom of having gone the prejudice, war hysteria and failure of political leader• der. How does anyone reach a decision as to an equitable commission route in the search for ship were responsible. and politically acceptable fonn of redress, four decades But it is one thing for us to make these charges on the after the event, when the injustice was so gross as to defy basis of our feelings, and a totally different thing to have recompense ? these charges made after thorough investigation by a News reports out of Washington indicate the Commis• high level Commission approved by Congress, appointed sion will make some sort of recommendation before it is jointly by Congress anq the President, and provided with dissolved later this spring. It is easy to imagine that the tax funds with which to carry out its ~sion. The Com• commissioners are torn between the desire to do the mission report has a credibility that cannot be right thing, and the importance of doing the practical challenged. thing. The practical thing has to do with the fact that any RIC RE'PORT Continued from Page 2 One point emerging from the Commission report that monetary redress would have to be approved by Con• production goals for 1942, and the Japanese farmers of California needs str~ing has to do with the violence that was done gress when staggering federal budget defIcits are being been expected to produce over 40% of ali truck crops." It was suffi• to the American justice system by the Evacuation. The projected for years into the future. - critical to the government that the evacuees produce as much as is is ~)JUJt:, that continued crop production became a measl![e ofloyalty.·7 basic American principle that a person considered Whatever the Commission decides to do, !t has done C. Chief of the Civilian Staff, Western Defense Command, innocent Wltil proven guilty. In violation of this principle, the nation a great service already by unveiling the root 1 f>("lllrE~ on March 10, 1942: the government in 1942 accused an entire ethnic group of causes of a tragic national error- the omission of human There can be no doubt that all persons who wish to show their suspected disloyalty and imprisoned it until its indivi• and legal safeguards, and the commission of human and loyalty to this country should continue farming operation to the dual members could prove their innocence. Further, the legal wrongs. fullest extent. .. U.S. Supreme Court fOWld such action proper. A reversal The Commission's report is a fair and thorough docu• days later Clark was no longer equating crop production with av",r·"--1oyalty. Crop neglect.or damage had been elevated to an act of of this rmding may be the most important goql to be ment that should lift for all time the lingering stigma of sought as a result of the report. disloyalty that has clouded the lives of the Japanese [I]t would be most helpful if you would advise the Japanese [in The Commission was given two responsibilities by American minority. # Hood River County] that lliey are merely damaging themselves when they fail to take care of their orchards. In addition to this, EAST WIND: by Bill Marutani any failure to do so might be considered as sabotage and subject them to severe penalties." Witnesses recalled the government's insistence that they continue to (with evacuation imminent) or be charged with sabotage: San Jose: Then and Now With the beginning of the war, we not only had to terminate our basket business, but we lost all fmancial investments in the aspar• agus farm as well. However, we were forced to continue farming . Philadelphia century architecture. It is located just across the street with no fmancial gain because the govenunent stated that any ONE BRIGHT SUNDAY morning, neglect on our part would be considered an act ri: sabotage." from the Wesley United Methodist Church. The building, A gentleman ...wanted to harvest a small strawberry crop. He three years ago, we drove down the situated on a generous sized lot, is undergoing renova• wanted 24 hours. He came to me [a U.S. Employment Service peninsula into San Jose "to check it tion, and its rich cream color trimmed in dark brown Employee assigned to the Federal Reserve Bank] and asked if I out," particularly its J-town. Sunday promised a revitalized future fOf the community. To the could get some kind of time deferral. I could not. So another is an unfair day to measure any city or left, as one faces the building, there is a single tree, an frustratioo, he plowed his crop under. The following day I found community. However, we wandered evergreen, which obviously had been there a goodly out that the FBI had picked him up and he had ~ jailed because about the radius of Fifth and Jackson, stopping into vari• be bad conunitted an act of sabotage. 0' number of years. And we wondered what that tree could Wakamatsu told bow the Issei truck farmers of the Puyallup ous food and gift shops, making a few purchases here and tell us about what it had seen and heard in the decades in Washington responded to the regulation to continue crop there-nothing bulky since we had to fly back horne. We past-if it only could speak. were properly impressed by the magnificent Buddhist THE MEfHODIST CHURCH across the street has as By the nuddle eX May, when the valley folks were sent to the temple from which a happy wedding party was then one of its pastors, Reverend Peter Chen who is articulate assembly center, the telephone peas were waist high and strung, emerging into the glorious sunlight. For lunch we cer• in nihongo as well as in English. The Buddhist Church is the pole beans were staked, early radishes and green onions were tainly weren't going to have any yo-shoku, so we stopped ready for the market, strawberries were starting to ripen and the just a block away, thus providing the community a lettuce bad been transplanted. into a promising-looking reslaurant called simply (as we choice, especially for the Issei, of seeking either of two Not much is known bow the crops fared in the harvest nor what recall) "Kyo"-as in Kyoto. The choice was good. paths-to the One God of all. prices were obtained, but the Issei farmers went into camp willi NOW THREE YEARS later we checked the city and All in all, it's a nice place. Indeed. # their heads held high, knowing that they had dooe everything that was possible to help our nation face its frrstsummer of World War the community out a bit more in detail and came up with II." these observations, some of them superficial. For exam• (To Be Continued) ple, Santa Clara apparently is one of the 'main arteries; the eastern section of the city appeared to be predomi• Footnotes nantly inhabited by Hispanic residents. On the weekend, 24. TestimOny, Milsuo Usui, Los Angeles, Aug. 5. 1981, p . ~ . ~8:N 1L 25. Testimony, Elsie Hashimoto, LoS ~eles , Aug. 5, 1981, p. 139. near evening, the street was jammed with vehicles, and 2% . 26. Testimony, George Matswno~ San F'rancisco, Aug. 13. 1981, p. 112. 13 7~ 'noTestimony , Tom Hayase, San l'rancisco, Aug. 11 . 1981, p. 127. we noted old models which had been rehabilitated into RATE APR 28. U.S. Department of the In~rior . Peop~ in Motion: The Postwar Adjustm ~ of gleaming showpieces, riding extremely low to the E vacuated Japanese Amencans (WaShington, DC: U.S. Government Prmting undated [CJ.rca 19471. pp. 57-59. . ground as the front end seemed to be saucily Wldulating. . Adoo pOll. Japcl1lese Farm Holdings on the Pacific Coast (DaVIS , CA: LOW~COST , of California at Davis, College of Agriculture. December 1944) (CWRIC Apparently the streets do not have any potholes, for one 1440:)----;S'lj . Wlex:pected drop into such a hole and one of these shiny AUTO LOANS I t d~i~~~~~~ L Hewes, Jr.• Final Report of the Participation of the Farm Security I" in the Evacu:Uion Program ofth e Wartim e Civil ControL Administra- vehicles would be ruined Wlderside. currently at 13 ' .o ot" tion CiviLAjfCJJTS Division? Western Defense Command and Fourth Army, March IS, 1942 through May 31 1942 lhereafter "Final Report of FSA" I (CWRIC 4 ~7 4) . WE WERE ALSO impressed by the proliferation of 31. Laurence L Hewes, Jr., Supplemental Report of the Participation of the Farm INSURED SAVINGS ••,,, c uruu Administration in the Evacuat10n P 'Cogram of the War time Civil ControL Vietnamese business enterprises along this strip: fast• Adll'linistrationin the Evacuation Program ofth e Wart1me Civil ControL Administra• currently paymg 7°'0 tion CiviL Affairs Division Western Defense Command and Fourth Army in Mi litary food shops, an ice cream parlor, mini-markets, and so Insured to any amount ATe~ Number 2, June 1, 1942 through August 8, 1942 [hereafter ' 'Supplemental Report on. It was obvious that these (comparatively) newly• ofFSA" ] (CWRIC 11594-600) 32. Masaka1ll Iwata, "The Japanese Inunigranls in California Agriculture," Agn- arrived people certainly were not letting any grass grow cultural History, vol. 36I..Jan. 1962, pp. 33--34. FREE SAVINGS 33. Testimony, Mary TSukamoto, San Francisco, Aug. 12, 1981 . p. 79. under their feet. It also spoke eloquently of the receptive M. Testimony, Henry Sakai. Los Angeles August 4, 1981, p.1.'W. attitude of the San Jose commWlity. Commendable. INSURANCE 35. Written testimony, Clarence Nisllizu, LOS Angeles, Aug. 4, 1981. up to $4 000 36. Unsolicited testimony, Fred Manaka, Long Beach, CA. :r7. Testimony, Jack Fujunoto, Los Angeles. Aug. 5, 1981, p. 60 . THEN WE SAW something that we don't recall having 38. Thstimony, Hiroshi Kamei.lLos Angeles, Aug. 6, 1981. p. 243. seen three years before, but something we had long fig• 39. Testimony, Mike Umeda, ;)an Francisco, Aug. 12, 1981, p. 124. . . FREE LOAN 40. Report of managing secretary of the Western Growers Protective AssocJatirt ofFSA, pp. ~ . • Ali order; it was located just across the street from the Fuji 47 . Memo. James F. van Loben SeIs to Tom C. Clark. Coordinator, Enemy en Control woe. Feb. 23, 1942; letter, Clark to T.M. Bwm, Salinas Valley Exchange. Towers, the residence for Issei. But I was the only Asian Now over $5 million In ass t March i2, 1942; letter. Clark to Harold J . Ryan. Agricultural Resources and Produc• customer; all the others were hakujins, young and old. tion Committee, Los ~eJesCounty Defense Council, March lO. 1942. OOJ 140-13- NATIONAL J ACL CREDIT UNIO N 7-2--0 (CWRICl2067: ~; l2075). We Wlderstand that "Happi House" has other places in 48. Letter, Clark to Ryan March 10. 1942, OOJ (CWRIC l2 Please send COpIeS of "An American Nightmare" ($50 each) to: CaJ!fornia.Western States Life Insurance Company/Home Office: Sacramento Name An American General Company Address City, State, ZIP Friday, March 18, 1983 I PACIFIC CITIZEN-9 chartered corporations or fOWldations herein above provided, lowing schedule: (1/ $IOO,OOO,1XXl during the fiscal year in which this Act becomes elTec• CootiDued from Page 9 in such amOlmts and in such proportions as are appropriate. G UI DELI NES Method for Determining Losses: tive; and activities as would benefit such indivKiuals, their descendants, communi· Congress shall instruct the Office of Management and Budget \OMB ) of (2) $IOO,OOO,1XXl during the second, third, fourth and fifth fiscal years ties or groups. as well as for the general welfare and protection of human the U.S. government, within a period of not more than twelve \ 12) months, thereafter; and rights of all persons in these United States in the name and memory of to : (3) $5O,OOO,1XXl per year during each fIScal year thereafter until the full, such individuals. (1/ Tabulate all physical losses, by whatever method feasible , and as total, aggregate amooot detennined by the OMB shall have been paid in ll. MONETARY COMPENSATION TO BE PAID suggested by the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of full. TO INDIVIDUAlS Civilians, suffered by Alaskan Aleuts and persons of Japanese ancestry Amounts above shall be divided proportionately between the corpora· Congress shall authorize and appropriate adequate monetary who were forcibly moved or required to move from the West Coast of the tion or foundation for Alaskan Aleuts and the corporation or foundation compensation to all iOOividuals who suffered injuries, IXtysical United States ch1ring World War II as a result of Executive Order #9066 for persons of Japanese ancestry, based of the number of individuals or psychic, and losses, tangible or intangible, as a proximate and govenunental actims flowing therefrom, and after having computed involved. consequence of Executive Order Number 9006, issued on Febru• such total aggregate amount, deduct therefrom all amounts heretofore paid by the U.S. govenunent under the Evacuation Claims Act ofl948 ; ary 19, 1942, and from all official governmental actions flowing V. ALASKAN ALEUTS FOUNDATION AND (2) Compute the average earnings of above such individuals, on the JAPANESE AMERICAN FOUNDATION therefrom; basis of 1940 statistics, to date of re-establishment of their normal lives, Such appropriation(s) by Congress shall be paid into the trea• adding thereto oousual or extraordinary costs and expenses incurred by In fulfillment of the policy hereinabove enWlciated, there is sury of the two federally chartered corporations, as hereinafter such individuals to preserve and protect their property or to re-establish hereby created two federally chartered, charitable, education• provided, and shall be disbursed in accordance with provisions their nonnallives; al and non-profit corporations, to be known as: (a) Alaskan hereinafter set forth. (3) Canvass all federal tort cases in which the U.S. govenunent was Aleut FOWldation, and (b) Japanese American FOWldation, to lll. ELIGmILITY AND QUALIFICATIONS OF PAYEES found liable by competent courts, including awards for pain and suffer• exist and to function in perpetuity as hereinafter set forth : As hereinabove provided, all persons who Sl.{ffered injuries or ing, false imprisonment, humiliation and degradation, and all other simi• The purposes of these foundations are: losses because of Executive Order #9066 am the governmental lar or related intangible injuries, and by means of computers arrive at (1) To receive appropriations from the Congress of the United States as average amounts, to be multiplied by the number of individuals so in• hereinabove provided; shall actions flowing therefrom be fully entitled to compensa• volved in the involuntary movement from their homes on the West Coast (2) To invest or re-invest such funds as deemed prudent or appropriate, tions herein provided. Proof of residence or actual physical during World War II, and compute the aggregate total thereof; from time to time as convenient or advisable ; presence on those areas cleared by the military during World (4) Inflationary factor : After having arrived at such total aggregate (3) To disburse and payout to individuals who are eligible and qualified, War II shall be sufficient for full entitlement of compensation figure, appropriate adjustment shall be made for the inflation since the on a per capita basis, in the following order of priorities, during each fIScal from the United States government. first quarter of 1942; year, until all such individuals are paid in full : Specifically, all Alaskan Aleuts and persons of Japanese ancestry en• (5) Interest computation : Interest at the rate of6% per annum shall be (a) First priority: 100% of the per capita share shall be paid to rolled on the records of the United States government during the period computed and added to the total aggregate amoootdue since 1942; invididuals who were at least 18 years of age, as of Feb. 19, 1942 ; from December 8, 1941 ootil December 19, 1944, as being in the prohibited APPROPRIATIONS BY CONGRESS (b) Second priority : After all those in Category (a) above have military zones, shall be automatically deemed eligible to receive com• Congress shall authorize and appropriate an initial food of$500,OOO,OOO been paid in full, then those who attained the age of 18 by Sept. 1945 pensation for injuries and losses as herein described. and subsequent sums to be paid and deposited with the federally char• (when the camps closed) shall be paid in full; It should be noted, however, that there were and art' ,L • ! j . ..1 als of tered corporations hereinabove referred to, in accordance with the fol- (c) Third priority: Thereafter, all others who are duly qualified other racial and ancestral backgrourxis who wer" ~m, u II _, • by and eligible shall be paid in full ; Executive Order #9066, and upon proper show":g. 11 _ be fully BY THE BOARD: by Dr. Yosh Nakashima (d) Exceptional cases: In the event that the Board of Directors entitled to compensation as herein provkt'!d fmds that there are exceptional cases deserving special attention, IV. AUTHORIZATION Al'Ill> A.'" • JA':'lONS in such event such individuals may be paid without regard to the BYCONGRE c- priorities above set forth . Congress shall authorize and appp pnate uch sums of Why Should Anyone (e) General Rule : Payments shall generally be made in the order in which requests or claims are made, subject to the priori• money as would adequately and fully COl tpensate all indivi• duals for injuries losses incurred because of Executive ties and exceptions above stated. am JoinJACL? (4) During any fIscal year, not less than 10% of the amooots appro• Order #9066 and governmental actions flowing therefrom, and priated and paid to the aforementioned fOoodatiOOS , and any earnings shall cause such swns to be paid and distributed to the federally San Francisco Continued 00 Page 12 If you asked many JACL members as to their reason .--.....*_***** ••• *•• for joining, you would hear many reasons, from believ• , ing in the organization or because a friend asked them to join. I believe that we need to pursue new avenues for increasing the membership. If one clearly understands and knows the mission statement of JACL, as passed at the 1002 National Coun• J 1u' HI:~Io':n!f the cil meeting, then you can better serve the membership Japanese Ameril'an drive and truly get new members who will remain and Cili::ens ua{{lIe actively serve their membership and community. N To refresh us, let us state them again: 1.) to protect the rights and liberties of Japanese Ame• ricans and to secure and uphold civil and human rights for all people. QIJESTOF 2.) to preserve the traditions and values of Japanese Americans in a multicultural society. 3.) to participate in the development of understanding - Interviews with 21 Tuleans on between all racial and ethnic groups. the internment, everyday life, 4.) to promote and sponsor programs and activities by loyalty questionnaire, segregation, USTICE and the return from the camps which members fulfill their citizenship responsibilities. We need to be clear as to the role of JACL with respect - 95 rare photographs and drawings to the National, District and Chapter responsibilities. As BILL HOSOKAWA reported by the National Long Range Planning Commit• tee of the past biennium, I believe that the primary focus Send $10.00 to The Tule Lake Committee This history of the Japanese American Citi• of the National JACL should be a civil rights advocate 1716 Ocean Ave., Box 209 zens League was written not only for its with activities in legislative advocacy; anti-