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are in Washington, D. C.
By way of explanation, may I say that the Anti-Discrimination
Committee was incorporated last summer as the legislative agency of the
Japanese American Citizens League and that we have complied with the
various regulations prescribed by the Congressional Reorganization Act of
1946.
We are appearing in support of H. R. 2768, because we believe that
its enactment would not only compensate in part for some of the legitimate
economic losses sustained by persons of Japanese ancestry as a result of
the exclusion orders of 1942 but would also strengthen democratic processes
and prestige.
We submit that while evacuation was a great blew to the cause of
civil liberties in the United States, it was en equally potent challenge
to our concepts of private property and free enterprise, the twin foundations of our economic system.
For the military exclusion orders not only resulted in the mass
eviction of over a hundred thousand persons of Japanese ancestry, two-
thirds of whom were American citizens, but it also resulted in serious
economic detriment to these same evacuees.
It is America's boast that under a system of free enterprise and the
doctrine of the inviolability of private property, we became the greatest
and richest nation in the world. We have placed a premium on personal
initiative .
Yet what did evacuation do to these concepts?
In the first place, the fruits of the labor of a generation of
hard-working immigrants were destroyed overnight.
Bountiful farms that were fashioned from marginal lands had to be
sold or leased for a mere fraction of their real value to persons and
corporations that mis-used these productive lands and orchards for immediate profits with no regard to future fertility.
Businesses that were developed by long years of toil and service
went bankrupt almost overnight, and through no fault of their operators.
Stocks had to be sold for less than the actual inventories, for a few
cents on the dollar, with no consideration for such valuable intangibles
as "good will" •
Private practices in the fields of dentistry, medicine, and the
law, built up painstakingly over the years, disappeared with the evacuation,
Homes that were purchased after almost a quarter of a century of
thrift and industry, and furnished to make the dreams of years come
true, were rented out for a few dollars a month in the vain hope, in most
cases, that the temporary occupants would not wreck them during their
tenancy .
In the second place, the government ordered the evacuation of a
hundred thousand people without providing for the protection of personal
and other property interests, leaving them victims to unscrupulous buyers
and thieves that became rich as a result of this human tragedy.
The Fourth Interim Report of the Tolan Committee on its "Findings
and Recommendations on Evacuation of Enemy Aliens and Others from
Prohibited Military Zones", May, 1942, makes a strong case out of this
fact:
"Witness after witness, appearin g before the committee, deplored
the fact that no provision was being made for protecting the property of
the persons who had already been, or were about to be evacuated. Evidence,
that there were numerous instances of sales of personal property at great
53.
Object Description
| Title | Hearings and Reports on the Evacuation Claims Bills |
| Description | The Committee on the Judiciary from the House of the Representatives presents a report on the evacuation claims bills. |
| Subjects | Redress and reparations |
| Type | image |
| Genre | Reports |
| Language | eng |
| Collection | Hirasuna Family Papers |
| Collection Description | 111 items |
| Project Name | California State University Japanese American Digitization Project |
| Rights | Rights not yet transferred |
Description
| Local ID | csufr_hfp_1494 |
| Project ID | csufr_hfp_1494 |
| Title | Page 54 |
| Creator | Unknown |
| Date Created | 1947 - 05 - 28 |
| Subjects | Redress and reparations |
| Type | image |
| Genre | Reports |
| Language | eng |
| Collection | Hirasuna Family Papers |
| Collection Description | 8.18 x 13.70in |
| Rights | Rights not yet transferred |
| Transcript | are in Washington, D. C. By way of explanation, may I say that the Anti-Discrimination Committee was incorporated last summer as the legislative agency of the Japanese American Citizens League and that we have complied with the various regulations prescribed by the Congressional Reorganization Act of 1946. We are appearing in support of H. R. 2768, because we believe that its enactment would not only compensate in part for some of the legitimate economic losses sustained by persons of Japanese ancestry as a result of the exclusion orders of 1942 but would also strengthen democratic processes and prestige. We submit that while evacuation was a great blew to the cause of civil liberties in the United States, it was en equally potent challenge to our concepts of private property and free enterprise, the twin foundations of our economic system. For the military exclusion orders not only resulted in the mass eviction of over a hundred thousand persons of Japanese ancestry, two- thirds of whom were American citizens, but it also resulted in serious economic detriment to these same evacuees. It is America's boast that under a system of free enterprise and the doctrine of the inviolability of private property, we became the greatest and richest nation in the world. We have placed a premium on personal initiative . Yet what did evacuation do to these concepts? In the first place, the fruits of the labor of a generation of hard-working immigrants were destroyed overnight. Bountiful farms that were fashioned from marginal lands had to be sold or leased for a mere fraction of their real value to persons and corporations that mis-used these productive lands and orchards for immediate profits with no regard to future fertility. Businesses that were developed by long years of toil and service went bankrupt almost overnight, and through no fault of their operators. Stocks had to be sold for less than the actual inventories, for a few cents on the dollar, with no consideration for such valuable intangibles as "good will" • Private practices in the fields of dentistry, medicine, and the law, built up painstakingly over the years, disappeared with the evacuation, Homes that were purchased after almost a quarter of a century of thrift and industry, and furnished to make the dreams of years come true, were rented out for a few dollars a month in the vain hope, in most cases, that the temporary occupants would not wreck them during their tenancy . In the second place, the government ordered the evacuation of a hundred thousand people without providing for the protection of personal and other property interests, leaving them victims to unscrupulous buyers and thieves that became rich as a result of this human tragedy. The Fourth Interim Report of the Tolan Committee on its "Findings and Recommendations on Evacuation of Enemy Aliens and Others from Prohibited Military Zones", May, 1942, makes a strong case out of this fact: "Witness after witness, appearin g before the committee, deplored the fact that no provision was being made for protecting the property of the persons who had already been, or were about to be evacuated. Evidence, that there were numerous instances of sales of personal property at great 53. |
