New Warning On Releasing Of Japanese

Washington (UP) - Robert E. Stripling, chief investigator for the House Committee On Un-American Activities, charged Monday that the "willy-nilly" methods of the War Relocation Authority in releasing 1000 Japanese internees a month "without proper check" might result in turning trained saboteurs loose in this country.

Stripling said that a committee investigation had revealed that there are in this country 10,000 members of the Black Dragon society of Japan who were trained in sabotage at the North American School of Military Virtue in Tokyo. He said that Committee Agent James Steedman in Los Angeles is checking the list of this membership against names of those Japanese who have been released from the relocation centers.

He said that the committee had not been able to find that any proper inquiry into the possible disloyalty of Japanese being released was made by the War Relocation Authority. He said that recently an army questionnaire circulated among internees between the ages of 17 and 38 showed that 21 per cent of Japanese in relocation centers asserted that they were not loyal to this country.

"That fact," Stripling said, "coupled with the fact that we have no evidence of proper check being made by the War Relocation Authority before releasing Japanese, makes the committee of the opinion that no more internees should be released without thorough study."

A subcommittee of the Dies Committee, appointed at the request of Rep. J. Parnell Thomas, R., N. J., will open hearings on the matter in Los Angeles, June 7. Thomas, who himself conducted an investigation last week, telegraphed President Roosevelt, requesting that he "immediately cease release of Japanese internees," according to Stripling.

Stripling said that the full committee would probably hold open hearings on the relocation investigation about the middle of June in Washington. He said that if the evidence indicated a need for it legislation might be proposed to require greater surveillance over the centers and perhaps turning control over to the War Department.

State Supervisors Protest Return

Sacramento (UP) - The County Supervisors Association of California has adopted a resolution strongly opposing the return of Japanese to California for the duration of the war. J. H. Hunter, secretary of the organization, announced Monday.

The army "wisely" moved persons of Japanese birth and ancestry from California, the resolution declared, and "to permit them to return...would subject us again to the danger of serious sabotage and difficulty in defending our shore line in the event of an attack."

Source: Watsonville Register-Pajaronian , page 1
Date: 1943-05-31
Type: NEWS; DOCUMENT
Coverage: 1940s
Rights: Copyrighted by the Watsonville Register-Pajaronian. Reproduced by permission.
Identifier: LN-1943-05-31-946

Collection

Citation

“New Warning On Releasing Of Japanese.” Watsonville Register-Pajaronian , page 1. 1943-05-31. SCPL Local History. https://history.santacruzpl.org/omeka/items/show/134637. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.