Granada Pioneer, Vol. I, No. 61

              May 1, 1943_____________PIONEER____________Page 3
Mrs. Roosevelt
Visits Center
   PHOENIX, Ariz., April 24
--Mrs.  Eleanor Rppseve;t
visited her first War Relo-
cation center and came away
impressed with the amount
of work the 15,000 Japanese
evacuees are doing at Rivers
to support themselves.
   “I saw no pampering or
coddling," Mrs. Roosevelt
declared.   "The Japanese
themselves operate their
own 7000-acre farm, main-.
tain schools, and two fac-
tories.   They deserve a
great deal of credit."
   The first lady said she
held a closed conference
with several evacuees.
   "They made no complaints,"
she said.   "The only thing
they asked for was a cooler
that is needed at the hospital."
   When asked what she
thought should be done after
the war about the Japanese
she replied, "I think we
are all learning a great
deal from this experience.
It is not sound for minor-
ity groups to be generalized. "
‘MONITOR’:  MANZANAR
IS  ONE  YEAR  OLD NOW
   The Manzanar relocation
center is celebrating its
first anniversary, accord-
ing to a recent issue of
the Christian Science  Moni-
tor.
   Said  the  Monitor:
   "Careful thinkers in
these parts, doubtless in-
cluding very many Japanese,
have no regret that a year
ago--March 5, 1942--the
Army announced an evacua-
tion order which brought
the removal from this coast,
ultimately, of about 110,000
citizen and alien Japanese.
    "Its legality has been
questioned by some, its so-
cial justice disputed by
others, but the summing up
a year after, shows signs
of confirming what one of
the people most directly
affected, a Japanese at
Manzanar, said in the be-
ginning:  'This evacuation
may prove to be a blessing
in disguise.'
   "How so?
   "Manzanar has given the
residents their first inti-
mate participation in demo -
critic procedures...has
brought about the setting
up of a model community re -
plete  with government,  busi-
ness, and law and order."
   Concluded the Monitor:
   “It seems sale to say...
that the people are living
sensible  lives  adjusted
remarkably well  to
situation…."
MAY  MODIFY
LEAVE  PLANS
   WASHINGTON, DC, April 22
--Plans to release Japanese
and Japanese-Americans from
relocation centers may be
modified as a result of
public horror about the ex-
ecution of American flyers,
it was indicated, but the
idea  of weeding out the
loyal  Nipponese  and   their
native-born descendants has
not been abandoned.
   Governrment officers pre -
viously in favor of grant-
ing virtually full freedom
to evacuees deemed loyal
are now wondering whether
it is advisable  to lift
restrictions.   The amount
of freedom granted those
who are considered trust-
worthy may  be   reduced.
MARENGO  OBJECTS  TO
PRESENCE  OF  EVACUEES
   Three  Japanese- American
evacuees rested on a farm
near Marengo (outlying dis-
trict of Chicago) after a
week of cutting seed pota-
toes   for  planting,   hoping
the community will accept
them as American citizens
and allow farmers, says a
recent edition of the Chi-
cago Daily Tribune.
   They were surprised to
learn that Marengo citizens
had objected to their pres-
ence, as reported by Mayor
W. L. Miller.
   "We were assured by War
Relocation authority repre-
sentatives that the com-
munity would accept us,"
said Earl Ishino, 24, for-
mer  asparagus farmer near
Sacramento.    "We would not
want to stay in any neigh-
borhood unless we felt we
were welcome as American
citizens and fellow far-
mers."
   Ishino and his compani-
ons, Atsusa Sakuma, 27, former
Mt.  Vernon, Wash., straw-
berry  growers are the van-
guard  of a  group of 16
Japanese-American evacuees
who will work this summer
on truck gardens on 2,200
acres being developed by
the Curtis Candy company.
EXECUTION OF
FLIERS   DECRIED
   SALT LAKE CITY, April
22--Execution of members of
the Doolittle bomb-Tokyo
mission was condemned by
leaders of the JACL.
   Larry S. Tajiri, editor
of the Pacific Citizen,
wrote that the headlines
telling of the execution
should, "bring home with sud-
den  emphasis to the people
of the land the brutal,
ruthless nature of our ene-
my on the pacific prong of
the global war.
   "This barbaric defiance
of the  Geneva convention on
prisoners of war does not,
however, surprise those who
have watched the bloody
ascension of General Tojo
and  the military Fascists
.…”
CUTTERS  GET
$35  PER  DAY
   WALNUT GROVE, April 12--
Thirty-one Filipino aspara -
gus cutters are each earning
an average of $35 a day,
George P. WiIson, manager
of the DiGiorgio Fruit cor-
porations operations, said.
   The labor shortage has
brought about the payment
of high wages, such as
$1.20 per lug to the aspa-
ragus cutters.   With grow-
ers "paid seven cents per
pound for No. 1 white aspa-
ragus  and  eight  cents a
pound for No. 1 green, this
return contrasted with the
cost of cutting is extreme-
ly high. 
   Wilson said some of the
growers are contemplating
turning "their asparagus
lands to other uses because
of inability to meet the
high pay demanded by ex-
perienced cutters when such
can be obtained. "