Hearings and Reports on the Evacuation Claims Bills

              the very buildings,   had  been  removed.     They are unable  to assign dollar
values  to these   losses,   and   hive, no  records  to  substantiate  their claims.
Under  the War  Relocation Authority policy  the  protection  of
evacuee property was   little   improved,   although by  the   time WRA was
activated  in the summer of  1942 a great deal  of irretrievable  damage
had  already been done.     The WRA services  included legal  advice, but not
court representation,   assistance  in the  negotiation  of leases,   and intermediary activities  in financial arrangements.    The evidence  is that the
facilities were  infrequently used,  that the  evacuees  had  little  confidence
in the   organization,  and   that  the WRA deliberately  limited its  functions
in the   interests   of economy and public  relations.
The  purpose  of this   sketch of bureaucratic error  is   to  dispel  any
notion that   the  agencies  responsible for  the   evacuation and  for the management of  the  evacuees were  adequately  concerned with the management  of
evacuee  property.     One  is  impressed by the  laissez-faire  notions which
conditioned  the   relationship  of  the  evacuee   to  his worldly goods,  despite
the  fact that his powers   to  act effectively  in the  manipulation  of  those
goods was  destroyed.     The evacuee,   of course,   could  not  return to the
location of his  property  in order  to negotiate,   nor was  he  free  to go  to
storage  places  to see  what  damtge  may have been  committed by burglars   or
vandals.     He was fair  game  for the  manipulators   of the main  chance,  and
assaults upon his  property,   like assaults upon his  reputation, were
regarded even in some  polite  circles  as  a  form of higher patriotism.
The  property  losses   of many families  are  small.    Tom Tanaka,  a
30-year   old  Nisei,   had  a wife  and two   small  children.     They rented  a
house  and  had managed  to  acquire about. $500 worth of furniture  in three
years  of marriage.     The  furniture brought $50  in a panic  sale.     Tanaka
was  a  contract gardener,   an occupation peculiar to Southern California.
His  gardening  tools  -  lawnmower,   edger,   garden hoses,  hedge  clippers,
shovels,  rakes,  and  trowels  - worth $200,  were   sold for  $20.    He was
unable  to collect $150 owed him by  contract customers  before being
evacuated.    Realizing his  knowledge  and  skills were  of  little value  outside   of California,  and  fearful  of ttee   difficulties   of finding housing and
supporting a family,   Tanaka did   not  leave  the   relocation center until  it
closed.     During  three and  a half years   in  camp,  the   Tanakas  had  to give  up
payments   en the   endowment   insurance  they had taken  out for  the   children's
education.     Their total  property  losses  were   about   $850.     Tanaka's  loss  in
earnings,   not   counting  the   increase  in number  of customers  he  could  have
anticipated  as  his  experience  increased,  and  in 1941 dollars  uncorrected
for inflation,   comes  to  something  over  $6000.     The  family was returned to
the  Loftt Angeles   area and  have  been  living in a  trailer  for   the   last 18
months.
At a time  of  high wages  and   full   employment  the  people were   removed
from the   labor market and when permitted   to   leave  the   centers were  often
employed at levels  far below their   skills  and under  such transient  conditions   that  a  disproportionate  part of their  earnings were   spent   on  subsistence,    lie deliberately ignore   the   infinitesimal payments   of $12   -   $19 per
month for those working in the   centers.     This  practice  of  insolent   labor
exploitation can not be  rationalized by analogy with military service.    No
military personnel were   paid   at  such a  low rate,   and military  personnel had
pensions,  benefits,   opportunity for   advancement,  and  many  symbolic rewards
and satisfactions  unavailable  to the   evacuees.     The   compensation of evacuee
workers  is  antlagous  to  that in prisons  and  no useful purpose will be  served
in obscuring  the   fact.     Center  earnings,  perquisites,  and   living  facilities
can not be  used  to   cancel   out normal   civilian  earnings,  but are  to be  regarded
as  an amelioration of  the punishment of incarcertation and  an incentive
device  for   captive   labor.
It may be worth pointing  out   in passing that if the Americans of
Japanese  ancestry  suffered staggering  losses  in wages,  the nation suffered
real  losses   in productivity which reduced our war potential.     This   reduced
productivity in turn is   expressible  in terms  of  casualties.
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