Granada Pioneer, Vol. II, No. 39

              Page  6_____________________PIONEER__________________March 18, 1944
AFL  UNIONS  SPEARHEAD  PERSECUTION
OF EVACUATED NISEI  IN UTAH
     (Editor's Note: Utah's attitude toward the Japanese-American Pacific Coast eva-
cuees seeking to re-establish permanent homes outside the seclusion area, as more
than a majority desire to do, is reviewed in the following article, the fifth of
six appearing exclusively in The San Francisco Chronicle.)
SALT  LAKE  CITY, Utah,	
March 1-This city,founded 
less than a hundred years
ago by a people seeking
sanctuary from religious
persecution, today is a
hotbed of racial persecu-
tion.
   American Federation of
Labor unions in Salt Lake
City,home city of the Mor-
mon church that fled New
York and the Middle West
for the right to worship
God according to conscience;
in Ogden, and in Provo are
fighting entrance of Japa-
nese Americans into the
community.
   Their opposition is based 
on fear of economic com-
petition.
   Vigorously battling the
AFL unions are the Congress
of Industrial Organization
union locals,liberal groups,
and organizations devoted
to maintenance of democratic
principles.
   Persons of Japanese an-
cestry now living in the
State total about 6000,ac-
cording to the War Reloca-
tion Authority. The in-
crease since 1930 has been
about 3000, largely caused
by efforts of the Japanese
Americans to re-establish
homes outside the Pacific
Coast exclusion areas of
California, Oregon and Wash-
ington.
   Those who have left the
Relocation Centers are among
the 50,000 and more--of
the 112,353 evacuated from
the coastal areas almost
two years ago for reasons
of military necessity--who
are determined never to re-
turn to their former homes.
They believe they have great-
er social and economic op-
portunity in the"New Amer-
ica" of the other 45 States.
   The Utah AFL unions are
fighting the resettlement
trend because, the leaders
state frankly, they fear
their "competition for jobs."
They term the problem an
"economic one."
The Salt Lake City Cham-
ber of Commerce has vir-
tually subscribed to the
AFL demands.
   Mayor Earl J. Glade of
Salt Lake City advocates
a “practical” treatment of
the problem-voluntary halt
of Japanese American bus-
iness and agricultural ex-
pansion for the present to
permit the situation to
clarify itself.
   The Salt Lake City Coun-
cil has refused to take a
definite stand on the AFL
demand that business licenses
be denied Japanese American
applicants. The Ogden
Council h as recommended
such license applications
be denied but refused to
adopt legislation that could
be subjected to a clear-cut
constitutional test.
   Attitude of the Mormon
church toward the problem
cannot be ascertained from
qualified spokesmen. Pres-
ident Heber J.Grant is ill
and in virtual seclusion.
J. Reuben Clark, President
Hoover's Ambassador to Mex-
ico and first counselor to
the presidency of the church
was asked to comment. He
replied:
   "I would not want to
talk and be quoted.We have
Japanese members  of the
Church and they are good
members.”
   After a series of pro
and anti- Japanese- American
meetings,however, the Des-
eret News, unofficial spokes-
man for the church,editor-
ialized as follows:
   "It is regrettable that
the agitation concerning
the right of American-born
Japanese to engage in bus-
iness or acquire real pro-
perty in Utah should have
degenerated into an undig-
nified squabble.
   "Organizations which
weep copious tears because
of alleged racial discrim-
ination against Negroes,
lead the van of intolerance
toward the families of sol-
diers in our armies who
happen to be of Japanese
ancestry…The Japanese
not  injured half so
much as  their assailants
who permitted themselves
such extremes  of hatred,
bigotry and intolerance.”
   The    News    also advised
the Salt Lake City commission
to refrain from being”driv-
en into a course of intol-
erance and unfairness"while
considering the demand that
discriminative barriers be
erected against Japanese-
American business expansion
here.
   H.Grant Ivin, who spent
five years in Japan as head
of the Mormon mission to
the Nipponese Empire be-
lieves there is no question
that the Japanese Americans
can be assimilated into
United States communities
without difficulty if the
democratic rights of all
citizens   are  respected.
   He even suggests that
in time--several genera-
tions-the Japanese Ameri-
can racial group might be
eliminated from the domestic
social scene through racial
assimilation.Marriage laws
would    have    to be  amended
to permit such legal unions.
   Ivin believes the assim-
ilation process--through
social  acceptance or mar-
riage--will be no different
than that which turns Euro-
pean immigrant groups into
United States citizens. He
contends there is no ques-
tion that the Japanese Amer-
icans are as good citizens,
on the average, as Italian
Americans or German Ameri-
cans.
   Governor Maw is deter-
mined the  fight between
the two groups shall not
get out of hand in reply
to a question of whether
he would call a special
legislative session to con-
sider any exclusion legis-
lation,   he replied.
   "I will not call a special
session for  that purpose."
He was asked what Utah
could - do if the Japanese-
Americans decided to settle
in the State.     He   replied.
   "We hope they will re-
turn" to California after
the war,but if they don't,
we will have to learn to
live with them, for they
are, after all, United
States   citizens."
   Governor Maw disclosed
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