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PRESS RELEASE NO. 3 - March 8, 1942
The greatest forced migration in American history, the movement of
120,000 citizen and alien Japanese out of Pacific coastal areas, will
be carried out by federal and military authorities x^ith the xjhole-
hearted co-operation of the nisei—American-born Japanese, it was
indicated Sunday (March 8, 1942) as the Japanese American Citizens
League initiated an emergency three-day session to formulate a concrete
program on evacuation.
Meeting at their national headquarters, 2031 Bush Street, 200 delegates
from the JACL's 65 chapters in ten x^estern states, wexe unanimous in
pledging support to the authorities concerned with the evacuation
problem.
"Many of us were opposed to the principle of evacuation but nox; that
evacuation is a fact we are anxious to do our part so that the process
may be completed with the minimum of hardships to all concerned," Mike
Masaoka, national secretary, said.
James Y. Sakamoto, Seattle publisher and a former national president
of the League, urged those who might be bitter at the treatment accorded
them to "turn their bitterness against Japan- because the Japanese xxar
lords are responsible for all this."
The policy that the JACL will recommend in the handling of the evacuation process x*as indicated by Saburo Kido, national president of the
organization, x*ho said that "in view of the existing threats of vigilan-
tism and lax^lessness, we have decided that evacuation under military
supervision is the x*isest course."
The National Council meeting Sunday afternoon heard reports from the
League's four district councils in Northern California, Southern
California, Northwest and Inter-Mountain areas. Delegates from the
Inter-Mountain council, the only League group unaffected directly by
the evacuation proclamation issued last Tuesday by Gen. John L. DeWitt,
pointed out that many Japanese, mostly former residents of Utah, Idaho,
and Colorado, xrere returning from California. They expressed concern
over the public reaction which might be precipitated by an influx of
large numbers of Japanese.
He said also that many Japanese were anxious to comply with Gen. DeWitt's
suggestion that "those Japanese and other aliens who move into the
interior noxj would gain considerable advantage and would probably not
again be disturbed" but that these Japanese had no place to go. He
recommended that final government orders be ax^raited.
In his report to the delegates Masaoka said that many members of the
League wexe apprehensive of reports that the evacuees x^ould be
"exploited" and cited news reports which had indicated that the Japanese
xfould be used for forced labor on farms and in construction projects.
He assured the delegates that federal and military authorities would
handle the evacuation and resettlement of the Japanese humanely x?ith a
fairness consistent with America's democratic principles.
Masaoka summed up the attitude of the Council meeting when he said,
"The most important problem at the present time is the question of
where we are going, x^hen we are going and how we are to go."
PRESS RELEASE NO. 4 - March 8, 1942
The future of the JACL and the evacuation of West Coast Japanese were
the two main problems to which the special national board meeting of
- Page 8 of News Releases
Object Description
| Title | National Minutes 1942 Pre-evacuation |
| Creator | Unknown |
| Date Created | 1942-03-09 |
| Description | A collection of minutes that detail various meetings prior to evacuation. |
| Subjects | World War II -- Mass Removal (""Evacuation"") -- Preparation |
| Type | image |
| Genre | Notes |
| Language | eng |
| Source Description | 112 items |
| Collection | Hirasuna Family Papers |
| Project Name | California State University Japanese American Digitization Project |
| Rights | Rights not yet transferred |
Description
| Local ID | csufr_hfp_0211 |
| Project ID | csufr_hfp_0211 |
| Title | Page 8 of News Releases |
| Creator | Unknown |
| Date Created | 1942-03-09 |
| Subjects | World War II -- Mass Removal (""Evacuation"") -- Preparation |
| Type | image |
| Genre | Notes |
| Language | eng |
| Source Description | 7.84 x 13.91in |
| Collection | Hirasuna Family Papers |
| Rights | Rights not yet transferred |
| Transcript | PRESS RELEASE NO. 3 - March 8, 1942 The greatest forced migration in American history, the movement of 120,000 citizen and alien Japanese out of Pacific coastal areas, will be carried out by federal and military authorities x^ith the xjhole- hearted co-operation of the nisei—American-born Japanese, it was indicated Sunday (March 8, 1942) as the Japanese American Citizens League initiated an emergency three-day session to formulate a concrete program on evacuation. Meeting at their national headquarters, 2031 Bush Street, 200 delegates from the JACL's 65 chapters in ten x^estern states, wexe unanimous in pledging support to the authorities concerned with the evacuation problem. "Many of us were opposed to the principle of evacuation but nox; that evacuation is a fact we are anxious to do our part so that the process may be completed with the minimum of hardships to all concerned," Mike Masaoka, national secretary, said. James Y. Sakamoto, Seattle publisher and a former national president of the League, urged those who might be bitter at the treatment accorded them to "turn their bitterness against Japan- because the Japanese xxar lords are responsible for all this." The policy that the JACL will recommend in the handling of the evacuation process x*as indicated by Saburo Kido, national president of the organization, x*ho said that "in view of the existing threats of vigilan- tism and lax^lessness, we have decided that evacuation under military supervision is the x*isest course." The National Council meeting Sunday afternoon heard reports from the League's four district councils in Northern California, Southern California, Northwest and Inter-Mountain areas. Delegates from the Inter-Mountain council, the only League group unaffected directly by the evacuation proclamation issued last Tuesday by Gen. John L. DeWitt, pointed out that many Japanese, mostly former residents of Utah, Idaho, and Colorado, xrere returning from California. They expressed concern over the public reaction which might be precipitated by an influx of large numbers of Japanese. He said also that many Japanese were anxious to comply with Gen. DeWitt's suggestion that "those Japanese and other aliens who move into the interior noxj would gain considerable advantage and would probably not again be disturbed" but that these Japanese had no place to go. He recommended that final government orders be ax^raited. In his report to the delegates Masaoka said that many members of the League wexe apprehensive of reports that the evacuees x^ould be "exploited" and cited news reports which had indicated that the Japanese xfould be used for forced labor on farms and in construction projects. He assured the delegates that federal and military authorities would handle the evacuation and resettlement of the Japanese humanely x?ith a fairness consistent with America's democratic principles. Masaoka summed up the attitude of the Council meeting when he said, "The most important problem at the present time is the question of where we are going, x^hen we are going and how we are to go." PRESS RELEASE NO. 4 - March 8, 1942 The future of the JACL and the evacuation of West Coast Japanese were the two main problems to which the special national board meeting of - Page 8 of News Releases |
