Pacific Citizen 8/13/1942

The Pacific Citizen August 13, 1942
LARGE BLOWER FAN, AIR COOLER GIVEN TO POSTON HOSPITAL
     POSTON, Ariz.—Evacuees from the Visalia area, sweltering in Poston's torrid desert heat, are grateful for the contributions of a large blower fan and an air cooler for the hospital unit. Robert Cross of Tulare County donated the blower fan, which exhausts air from the room, to the hospital at Poston which will serve the people from Visalia. Miss Mieki Teraoka told Mr. Hideo the large air cooler to the hospital unit and has brought it to Poston at her own expense.

POSTON TEACHERS TRAIN AT INDIAN SERVICE SCHOOL
     POSTON Ariz. — Seventy prospective Nisei teachers for the Poston school system will receive basic teachers' training at the Indian Service school, which is located 12 miles above Poston. They will be accredited by the California State Dept. of Education upon completion of the course.

WHISTLING IN THE DARK  By KENNY MURASE
Introducing Little Esteban, a Sagebrush Imp
     Little Esteban is the Mexican-Indian boy who lives among the sage-brushes around the camps at Poston, Arizona. He is very bold and nosey and likes to talk with everyone, but especially with me because I have a big bag of cinnamon drops snuck away, and 1 always give him two, one for each cheek, and though his cheeks bulge out until he can hardly breathe, he isn't to be kept from talking.
     For just a wee bit of a boy, little Esteban has an awfully big opinion of himself—I mean he gets cocky sometimes and doesn't like to get sassed at, and when he gets mad, he spits out those cinnamon drops and usually hits what he's aiming at, which is more often than not my good right eye. But when you don't get him to acting nasty, and when he's shooting off his mouth, every once in a great while, he will say something maybe worthwhile listening to. And when he does, I give him a couple more cinnamon drops and listen very attentively as he rattles endlessly on.
     I was straightening out the room one day after arrival in Poston, at the brand new camp. Number Three, when I heard someone scrambling up the wall outside. I looked up and there poking through the window was Little Esteban, his black chubby face broken up into a huge grin.
     "How", said he.
     "How, yourself," said I. "Come on in."
     And Little Esteban clambered down, sat on top of a crate and immediately commenced filling his mouth with cinnamon drops which were in a bag lying on the floor.
     "Well, kiddo, he said, "how do you like Poston?"
     "I don't know," said I "we just got here and we're trying to get used to the place. Awful hot, though, isn't it ? I don't see how the people are going to do any work around here in this heat. At least you won't get any work out of me."
     "Yeah, kiddo, it's hot all right," said Little Esteban, "but how about those kids you see playing out there right under the hot sun—they don't seem to mind the heat, and you're kicking. Those kids are really having a lot of fun-—you should complain-—phooey."
     "But those kids," said I, mopping off my forehead with the third handkerchief of the day, "those kids are playing games and they aren't mindful of the heat."
     "Sure kiddo," said Little Esteban, "that's exactly the point. They're occupied with something to do, so their minds aren't on the heat. You ought to be occupied doing something too, and you won't notice the heat either."
     "Is that so?" said I, "but what can I do?"
     "Anything," said Little Esteban, "there's a job for everyone here. The employment division, they tell me, is doing a great job trying to fit people into the kind of work where they'll be of the best service to the community. Maybe such as in your case where you've just come into a new camp, you won't get started in your type of work right away, but you can always help in the mess kitchen*."
     "Yeah," said I, "I guess I can be doing something useful around here after all."
     "Look, kiddo," said Little Esteban, and he was getting serious,"you might as well face the facts and look at it realistically."
     I began wondering what he would say next—he spat out the cinnamon balls, looked me straight in the eye, and began, "You ought to decide right now whether you want to be happy or unhappy here. If you're going to be happy, you'll get it out of feeling that you're doing something useful, and the degree of that happiness will depend a lot upon whether you do a good job of it or not. And if you do your level best, you're going to find others around you not wanting to be left behind, and when you have everyone entering into the spirit of the thing, then before long the camp will be humming.
     "Don't you see, kiddo," and Little Esteban was not worked up into an excited state, "you've got more than just the responsibility of a smooth running community for the best interest of all the residents—you're got the bigger responsibility of proving to the Army and the government and the American people that we are not slackers and that we still have a certain amount of just plain guts left in us which we can apply towards social ends."
     "Yeah," said I, feeling small and awfully ashamed of myself, since I was doing nothing toward community betterment. "I guess I'll go on over to the kitchen and help them clean the pots and pans—-there probably won't be a big rush of people for that kind of work."
     And the next day as I was gently scouring out a big aluminum cauldron, someone tapped on the window screen. It was Little Esteban again.
     "How," said he, "so you're making good on what I said the other day."
     "Yup," said I, "and you're right—-when you're working, the heat doesn't get you so bad, and besides, there's a swell bunch of kids working in here. Not bad, not bad at all."
     "Oh, you mean the gals aren't bad?" sad Little Esteban and then he disappeared behind the sage-brushes.
 
TWO HUNDRED ATTEND POSTON PARTY FOR BLOCK MANAGERS
     POSTON, Ariz.—Two hundred persons attended the Block Managers' get together on July 30, at which a show was put on by the Hawaiian orchestra and the Salinas Swing Band.
     The program opened at 9:15 p. m. with Tomo Ito as master of ceremonies. Following his introduction of Wade Head, project director, John Evans, assistant project director, Project Attorney Haas and Mr. Galvin, the Salinas Swingsters, led by Tom Masamori, took over. Masamori sang, "Rose Marie," "Sleepy Lagoon," and "Skylark." 
     The Kamaaina orchestra next appeared with Toshi Yatsuhiro leading. Terry Maeda gave a magnificent hula dance. Setsuko Sato gave a hula tap number. Encored was the dance duet of Florence Ikeda and Kazu Ikeda. Ross Arita and Dorothy Kikuchi sang solos, while Sam Yamamoto, in a mop skirt, danced a novelty number to the tune of "Cockeyed Mayor of Kaunakakai."





Pacific Citizen 8/6/1942

The Pacific Citizen August 6, 1942
Arizona Commissioners Oppose Free Fishing for Evacuees Suggestion Made in Letter from Federal Forestry Official
     PHOENIX, Ariz. — The state fish and game commission last week made preparations to vigorously protest a proposal to grant the 20,000 or more Japanese evacuees to be located on the Colorado River WRA project at Poston hunting and fishing privileges without charge on the Colorado River Indian Reservation.
     One official said that the Japanese would have to pay the regular non-resident's fee of $25 for citizens and $75 for aliens. The proposal had been made by William Zimmerman, Jr., Washington, D. C, assistant commissioner of the division of forestry and grazing, to Henry Welsh, chairman of the Colorado River Indian Reservation Tribal Council.
     Non-Indian citizens of Arizona are charged a fee of $5 for hunting and fishing privileges on the reservation. Under Mr. Zimmerman's proposal, the evacuees would be required to pay the fee only for trapping.
     "This office is giving careful consideration to the conservation of fish and game resources on the Colorado River Indian Reservation during the occupation by evacuees," Mr. Zimmerman wrote to Welsh. "Since these people have been necessarily moved to the reservation as a war measure, involving considerable sacrifice of personal freedom and economy, it would appear improper to apply to them the same fish and game ordinances as the council has enacted for non-Indian citizens who are free agents. A fee of $5 is now required of such citizens before they may fish on the reservation."
     "In order to protect natural resources for use by the Indians after the war and at the same time provide for the evacuees, we earnestly recommend that the tribal council enact a special fish and game ordinance applicable to evacuees only, " Mr. Zimmerman incorporated the proposed ordinance in his letter.

TIMELY TOPICS COLUMN  By Saburo Kido
Repercussions on Hot Climate Comment
     POSTON, Ariz. The tale of the tragic arrival of the residents of the Salinas Assembly Center carried in this column brought forth repercussions from the Tulare Assembly Center where people of Pasadena, Santa Maria Valley and other coastal regions are located. Objections were lodged with us that we were hoping they would be sent to Arizona. This thought was not in our mind.
     We mentioned Fresno and Tulare Assembly Centers merely as examples. It could have been Turlock, Merced or Pinedale. We believed that if anyone was to be sent to a hot climate, then it should have been those who had been conditioned to a certain degreein Central California. If it were possible, we wish that everyone could be evacuated to a climate similar to that of the coastal region of California. But since this is impossible, the humane thing would be to select those accustomed to heat to come to a hot climate.
     For instance, if these in the Tanforan Assembly were to be relocated in Arizona, it would be suicidal because they would not be able to withstand the heat. It would be far worse than the Salinas tragedy.
     The fortunate thing about the Salinas affair was that there were no deaths resulting from the heat prostrations. Several have died subsequently but the causes are not traceable to the heat.

MARYLAND COLLEGE OFFICIALS TO START COURSE AT POSTON
     ANNAPOLIS, Md.—College-age Japanese at the Colorado River Relocation Project at Poston, Arizona, are going to get a taste of the best in English literature. "Officials at St. John's College, home of the classic method of college education which has been watched by educators all over the country, said last week that Raymond Wilburn, assistant dean, and Mrs. Wilburn had left for Poston to organize several "100 great books" seminars.
     The St. John's College curriculum calls for the reading of 100 great books, ranging from Homer and Plato through Euclid, Shakespeare, Kant, Darwin and others. The Wilburns will advise the relocation authorities on the system.

THE DEAN OF WOMEN OF FRESNO STATE COLLEGE, Miss Mary C. Baker, has this to say about the PACIFIC CITIZEN:
     "Your paper is invaluable at this time when there is a great need for correct information which it is impossible to get from any one source. And there is some mighty fine writing in it. I am particularly impressed with its moderation in the face of provocation, coupled with candor of expression and the evidence of a high type of loyalty."

Thank you, Miss Baker, we appreciate your unreserved opinion.

REMINDER TO OUR SUBSCRIBERS ... to ensure continued regular service be sure to send us your addresses from relocation centers . . . this applies particularly to Gila River, Sacaton, and Colorado River, Poston, Arizona.

BOOM-TOWNS . . . .
New cities arise in the American west today as a result of the Army's evacuation program. Poston, with a potential population of 20,000, will be the third largest city in Arizona. Only Phoenix and Tucson will be bigger in population. Sacaton will be right behind Poston with 15,000 Japanese evacuees and will claim the title of the fourth largest Arizona city. When Japanese evacuees arrive at the new WRA center on the Heart Mountain site near Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, they will constitute the citizenry of Wyoming's third largest city. The WRA center at Abraham in Utah will vie with the city of Logan as Utah's fourth largest city.

EVACUEES HAVE SELF-RULE AT POSTON CENTER
By STANLEY WATANABE
Wartime City Now Third Largest in State of Arizona
     POSTON, Ariz. —This wartime city, home of more than 10,000 Japanese evacuees and the third largest city in Arizona, has now been in existence for nearly three months. Poston community now operates under a self-governing system set up under the leadership of Wade Head, project director of the WRA center, Theodore Haas, the project attorney, and John Evans, assistant director.
     People from all parts of California have now been relocated at Poston, including persons from Monterey, Orange, San Diego, Santa Cruz, Los Angeles, Fresno and Tulare counties.
     Residents of Poston have already elected their own Block Council and have voted by secret ballot for their own Community Council which consists of 31 residents who
will enforce the laws and draw up a community constitution.

THIRTEEN THOUSAND AT POSTON
     Ten thousand evacuees are now residing in Poston's Camp One, while three thousand are in Camp Two, which has a potential capacity of 5,000. Camp Three which will also accommodate another 5,000 is now under construction. It is expected to be ready for occupancy later this month.
     Residents expect this community to progress rapidly in the months to come. One large post office has been erected and is now taking care of all incoming and outgoing
mail. A large army base hospital with a bed capacity of 250 will soon be completed. The three canteens now in operation report daily sales averaging approximately $1700 in cash sales daily.
     Motion pictures are shown four times weekly in Camp One and three times weekly in Camp Two. Dances are held twice weekly.

POSTON TO HOLD HARVEST  FESTIVAL ON AUGUST 15-16
     POSTON, Ariz.—-On the lines of a county fair, the Poston Harvest Festival on August I5 and 16 will feature an exhibit and judging of vegetables grown at this center.
A circus with sideshows will be put on in the adobe mesquite shelter by the Girls' clubs, with Sady Kitaoka as director.
     Residents of Block 31 contributed an air cooler to their block kitchen workers in appreciation for their labor.
     Poston streets will be paved shortly, if present plans are carried through. Ten miles of streets within the city proper will be paved and five miles each in Camps 2 and 3.

POSTON HATCHERY COVERS 80 ACRES
     POSTON, Ariz.—Some eighty acres at this center have been set aside for a fish hatchery, according to a report in the Poston Daily Press Bulletin. Ponds 100 feet square will be constructed by the Fish Culture Department on the arrival of equipment. Carp will be the basic specie for training of the workers in studying the fundamentals of fish culture. The fish will mainly be used as agricultural fertilizer.




Pacific Citizen 7/23/1942

The Pacific Citizen July 23, 1942
POSTON
In agony they writhe, the curling flames
Of thirst-parched earth tormented by ill-winds;
With madness and abandon, hurtled high
-Against the listless blue and floating wisps
Of tattered clouds forsaken in the sky—
Stripped of the grace of Nature's solitude,
The sun-drenched dunes bespeak but loneliness
And though it was ordained that from this dust
The fruits should have been reaped, the heathen heart
Stands blinded by the glare of selfish lust.
What ties will form before the blood-flecked tides
Of fury in its glory is deceased?
Who knows what Fate will give or take away,
Beyond the schemes of swarming little lives
While visions blur and fact and logic stray.
To shape a dream anew from alien soil
The chosen ones have come with hushed regrets,
That liberty might never more be bled.
No greater trust was asked or still received,
When treason, truth and doubt are interwed.
All worthy things are tried, and tested worth
Is beauty blossomed from the modest seed;
The pods are breaking now, so let us then
Grow freedom in its fullness and unfurl
A lasting faith to shame all lesser men.
—Cherry Obayashi.

OUR NATIONAL PRESIDENT
Saburo Kido and NCDC Chairman Tom Shimashaki have been evacuated to the Colorado River Relocation Project in Poston, Arizona
Mr. Kido's address is Camp 2, 215-4B.

Clovis People Aid Japanese In Evacuation
By KAZ OKA
Committee Reiterates Belief in Loyalty of American Nipponese
     POSTON, Ariz. — The first direct movement of Japanese evacuees from an area within Military Zone No. 2 to the Colorado River Relocation Center, Poston, Arizona, was consummated as scheduled at approximately 2 p. m. Tuesday, July 14, with the arrival of 346 via a special train which left Clovis, California, Monday evening.
     The 346 persons of Japanese ancestry were evacuated from that remaining portion of Fresno County which was in Military Zone No. 2 and was centered around the regionof Clovis and the northern part of Sanger. Approximately 294 more arrived at the Poston, Arizona, relocation camp Thursday from the same region.
     Living up to its title as "The Friendly City," the Caucasian American residents of Clovis, through its Committee on National Security and Fair Play, rendered every possible assistance to the evacuees.
     The committee, headed by Ralph Mason Dreger, pastor of the Clovis Methodist Church, issued a printed pamphlet, A Message to Our Neighbors and Friends on the Day of Evacuation, wherein they extended their wishes of good cheer and neighborliness and assurances "to do everything possible to reduce the hazards and soften the effects of your enforced absence."
     The committee reiterated their belief in the evacuees' loyalty to the United States and promised "that the evacuation does not in our minds reflect in any way upon your integrity as citizens."
     Among the members of the Committee who signed the statement were, besides Chairman Dreger, Frederick V. Dabold, pastor of the Clovis Baptist Church, Paul E. Andrews and Glenn D. Reavis, respective principals of the Clovis Union High and elementary schools, Elbert Franck, president of the Clovis Chamber of Commerce, and Mayor Luther E. Welden of Clovis.
     The Fair Play Committee, working in close conjunction with the Clovis branch of the Fresno Japanese American Citizens' League and represented by Jimmy Miyamoto and Tokuo Yamamoto from the Board of Governors, furnished transportation and "otherwise assisted the evacuees to prepare for the movement to their new quarters.
     Chairman Ralph Dreger of the Fair Play Committee served refreshments to the evacuees while waiting for their train at the depot.
     Mrs. Anna M. Johnson is another member of the Clovis Fair Play Committee who should merit a word of praise for the unselfish and persevering efforts which she expended to make the departure more pleasant and bright. In point of fact, the names mentioned are only a small portion of the residents who gave every aid possible and caused the evacuees to leave with a feeling that "everything's going to be okay."



Pacific Citizen 7/23/1942

The Pacific Citizen
July 23, 1942
TIMELY TOPICS COLUMN by Saburo Kido
Arrival at Arizona's Latest Boom Town
     To this outpost of civilization, the new boom town of Poston, Arizona, 579 of us arrived on Friday, July 16. A special train brought us from Lindsay to Parker, Arizona, where we transferred to a bus to reach this destination. When we registered, we were greeted with salt tablets and water. We appreciated the water but wondered why and wherefore the tablet. But being a newcomer, we followed instructions and took the generous offer. It was rather warm, but not exceptional compared to the central California heat.
     As we began to meet friends and talk about things, we found out the mystery about the salt tablets. The Salinas people who had come during the Fourth of July week had come from a cool climate to the roasting heat of 120-130 degrees. Heat prostration was prevalent. People fainted in the mess hall. People fainted at the latrines. People had to be rushed to the hospital. Even to this day, the administration is giving these people time to recover their strength before asking them to work.

Salinas People Affected by Heat
     The more we hear about the tragic arrival of the Salinas Assembly center residents, we wonder who blundered into this mistake. The conversation we had with Mrs. Richard Neustadt and others of the Federal Social Security Board and others in San Francisco comes to our mind vividly. We were 'firmly convinced that coast people, unaccustomed to heat, should not be sent to Arizona. And it was our understanding that this would be followed out.
     Instead of Salinas, there was the Fresno Assembly center which had been roasting in 120 degrees and whose residents would have been conditioned to this climate. Also,there were Tulare Assembly center residents ready to meet this hot weather.
     The reception committee members are having a big laugh now because they claim that the Lindsay contingent looked more spry than those who were out to greet them- Of course, it is claimed that we brought the cooler weather and that a shower of the night before had helped a great deal.

Learning to Walk Is Camp Necessity
     The first thing we are learning to do is to walk. To call on friends requires considerable traveling on foot because there are no trains, buses or private cars. One may have a lift on a truck if he is fortunate. The food so far seems passable, This does not necessarily mean that it is up to the standard of most of the people. No matter how low the standard of living is. claimed to be for the Japanese, at least in food we believe we are pretty particular.

Barracks Not Suitable For Family Groups
     The barracks would be all right for soldiers, but it is not the kind of home one would declare suitable for children and married people. The reason, most likely, is that army engineers planned them with the idea of men, and did not realize that women and children were also to occupy them. The latrines have flush systems, but no partitions.   Of course men and women have separate buildings. It is easy to ..excuse things because of the abnormal conditions which are existing at the time being. But on the other hand, we comment on this matter to call attention to the necessity of thinking in terms of human beings composed of men, women and children.
     The greatest concern unquestionably should be for the welfare of the little ones. Lack of privacy is the first step to the promotion and fostering of immorality.

Camp Leadership Sympathetic, Friendly
     There may be those who are so imbued with race hatred that they would not care what happens to the Japanese, even though the people involved may be innocent. But
America today is spending millions and billions to help the outside world. If charity is to begin at home, it is only natural that consideration be given to this growing generation of American citizens who someday will once again be turned loose Into the outside world and who are today giving their share for national defense by being confined in this outpost of civilization.
     We have not had the time to meet the people who are directing the destinies of this new community. But from all accounts, the residents seem to be grateful for the sympathetic and friendly attitude. The morale Is, very good, despite the pesty dust which comes blowing into the rooms and other shortcomings which time; we hope, will cure.

Poston Will Become Thriving Farm Center
     Through the cooperation of the administration and the residents, it will not surprise us to find this community become a thriving center of industry and agriculture. Nisei farm experts are being given the freedom to study and plan things. When the surrounding lands are subjugated, the real work will begin.
     It is up to the American people here and the government to decide the quantity of food to be produced here. There are so called "big time" farmers who used to operate hundreds of acres by themselves. If the equipment and facilities are available, Poston will become the agricultural center or Arizona. Of course the climatic conditions remain to be studied for the kind -of crops to be grown. At least the Nisei experts seem to have confidence. There seems to be little doubt as to the fertility of the soil. Arizona and the nation as a whole will find another "food basket" if they help to develop this new community and keep politicians and race mongers from meddling with the work of the War Relocation Authority.

Present Wage Level Means Exploitation
     Generous America should know the truth. The relocation centers are paying men $12, $16 and $19 a month for 48 hours a week work. Can this country face the world and claim to be benevolent when it is paying wages which our parents used to receive
when they first came to America as contract laborers over 50 years ago. Can civilized
America be proud of exploiting the labor of its own citizens by paying slave wages?
Medical supplies are deficient; hospital equipment is inadequate.
     But still the men are going out in the wasting sun in 100-110 degrees to do their share. To subject 100,000 persons of Japanese extraction to such a low standard of living and wage scales may satisfy the ego of the race mongers, but the record will be a blot in this nation's history.