Granada Pioneer, Vol. I, No. 76

              June 23,   1943____________________PIONEER_______________Page  3
COMMITTEE
Visits Poston
   POSTON,Ariz., June 18--
Japanese school children
at the Poston relocation
center have little respect
for the Dies sub-committee,
members were told by a
junior high school teach-
er, during the investiga-
tion of the camp made by
the committee.
   In addition to visiting
the schools, the committee
battled an afternoon dust-
storm to inspect  cellars
and other likely spots
where food might be cached .
They found no stored food
but expressed amazement at
crowded conditions among
the evacuees.
   After visiting one home
where eight persons slept
in one room, Rep. Karl E.
Mundt said:
   "I am amazed at the close
confinement some of these
families are living under."
   Chief complaint among
the evacuees centered around
the inability of many to
obtain air conditioning
equipment for their living
quarters.   One Japanese told
the committee that the
temperature did not drop
below 108 degrees one night.
   Most of the evacuees
admitted they disliked the
camp and did not wish to
be here...."
NISEI  SOLDIERS
RIGHTS  ARE  DEFENDED
   That he was in accordance
with the policy of the War
department that "certain
American soldiers of Japa-
nese descent (be permitted)
to attend to their affairs
in California," was ex-
pressed by Chester Rowell,
columnist of the SF Chron-
icle, recently.
   Rowell stated:   "...the
department does insist
that loyal American citi-
zens of Japanese descent
who have enlisted in the
Army of the United States
and are wearing its uni-
form shall be treated in
the same way as American
soldiers of German,Italian
or Allied or Chinese de-
scent.
   "If there are civilians
who raise the question of
possible mob violence a-
gainst such soldiers, the
expectation is evidently
that  local and State au-
thorities shall enforce
order on their own citi-
zens...."
   He mentioned that the
"testimony" on Japanese
sabotage here in this coun-
try would not "even be ad-
mitted or heard by any
judicial or quasi-judicial
body in existence.  If there
are any real situations
calling for investigation,
it should be conducted by
persons of more rational
mental processes."
   Rowell termed the pro-
posal to amend the consti-
tution to nullify the ci-
tizenship of all persons
of Japanese race, the con-
tention that native-born
citizens of Japanese an-
cestry are not citizens,
and the movement to deny
them the right to live
where they pleased after
the war, as "hysterical
nonsense...."
CIO   BACKS  EMPLOYMENT
OF  EVACUEE  WORKERS
   Condemning the recent
activities of the Dies com-
mittee as "irresponsible, 
hindering the prosecution
of the war..." the Wash- 
ington Industrial Union 
council,  representing all 
CIO unions in the District
of Columbia, went on rec-
ord  last week in favor of
the relocation program,ac-
cording to a copy of the
resolution received by WRA
Director Dillon S. Myer.
   The position taken by
the union in its resolu-
tion was this :
  The employment of evac-
uees outside relocation
centers helps to utilize
more fully the nation's
manpower during the war
against fascism and "sus-
tains the democratic rights
of residents of this land."
The resolution also wel-
comed into membership evac-
uees who are working in
the District of Columbia,
   A report in the Gary,
Indiana Post-Tribune, said
the Lake county Industrial
Union, council of the CIO
is also backing the relo-
cation program.  The Post-
Tribune quotes the secre-
tary of the CIO council as
saying:
  “Since we allow patri-
otic  German and Italian
citizens to work,why should
there be discrimination a-
gainst the Japanese,simply
because of their skinis yel-
low.”
DIES  HEARING
VIEWS  DIVIDED
   LOS ANGELES, June 16--
A delegation of citizens
from Phoenix,Ariz., warned
the Dies sub-committee
that bloodshed will fol-
low continued release of
Japanese from relocation
centers to settle in Ari-
zona .
   At the same hearing,
ministers from Los Angeles
and vicinity pleaded for
tolerance and release of
the loyal Japanese.
   The church group ex-
pressed the opinion that
"there  was no great re-
sentment or opposition to
the Japanese living in this
country" but that "most of
it has been whipped up by
the press."
FILES  SUBPOENAED
BY  COMMITTEE
   WASHINGTON,  June 19--
Files of the JACL subpoenaed
by the House committee on
unAmerican activities were
disclosed to contain a
statement that a Japanese
in this country publicly
declared that President
Roosevelt should be killed.
   The report was made by
a Japanese-American block
leader at Manzanar reloca-
tion center.  Said the man-
ager.:
   "I related this inci-
dent but nothing was done.
Therefore I feel that if
at all possible, separate
camps be set aside for
undesirable Japanese na-
tionals."
EVACUEES’   RETURN
TO   COAST  OPPOSED
   WASHINGTON, June 15--
All 22 members of the Cali-
fornia House delegation
were on record as approving
the proposed continuance
of any persons of Nipponese
ancestry returning to the
Pacific Coast.
The statement will be
submitted to President
Roosevelt and to the.Army.