Local Unit I Council
Executive Board Minutes
February 3, 1944
Local Council Executive Board
A case of knife stabbing occurred in Block 4 last night. The
detail of the case, according to the police investigation, was as follows:
There were several men playing a Chinese gambling game called "Paccue". Those
present included Yoneyama, Yanaka (the operator of the gambling place
in Block 26, which recently opened), Tanomaye (block 4) , and Bob
Ueda (block 11). They were all under
the influence of intoxicating liquor. Tamomaye, at one stage of game, demanded
from Ueda return of 10 dollars, which he alleged he had loaned to him.
(Tanomaye resides in Block 4. He is a bachelor about 50 years of age,
originally from Kagoshima Prefecture. Ueda is a kibei about 35 year of age,
also from Kagoshima Prefecture. He resides
in Block 11.) Ueda claimed that he had
never borrowed the amount from Tanomaye.
The bachelors fought over the matter until they were calmed by the
others. (The fact as reported by others,
was that Ueda had asked Yanaka for a loan of thirty dollars. Yanaka had borrowed it from Tanomaye and had
loaned it to Ueda.
Tanomaye, however, was not satisfied.
He returned to his room. A little
afterwards, he came back to the gambling place and immediately rushed to
Ueda. As Tanomaye took hold of Ueda he
stabbed the latter with a knife twice; one in the back of his head, then in his
throat.
The police was called immediately
and the bleeding man was taken to the hospital.
The attending doctor, Iwata, reported later that the wounds were
not serious, and probably would be healed in a short time provided there would
be no further complication.
The attacker, on the other
hand, was apprehended and taken to the station for an investigation. The police record revealed that both Tanomaye
and Ueda had been arrested on last August 9 for gambling and were on probation
for six months prohibiting him to drink, gamble, or quarrel.
This morning
the matter developed further with more complications. Yoneyama came to see Tao at the station and
requested him to hush up the case. Tao
immediately campaigned among his fellow workers to drop the case and to
release the man, because “we are all fellow Japanese and we should not prosecute
another Japanese.” No policeman, as
usual, wanted to oppose Tao actively.
Tao’s close friend, Captain Aihara also assisted him in getting
the policemen to agree to dismissing the case.
(Only a few in the department are cognizant of the fact that Tao and
Aihara had been taking bribes from the gambling operators. Others thought rather unusual that Tao showed
a special interest in this criminal, one informant told me.) At noon Tao and
Aihara released Tanomaye from their custody.
Meanwhile, Captain Ono and H, the more honest and conscientious element in the
department, interviewed Yoneyama secretly and tricked him to an admission that
he had been bribing Tao Aihara regularly up to the end of the last year,
although Tao had refused to take bribes this year. (Ono and H believed that Tao became cautious
on account of his misconduct on New Year’s Day, and had become to realize the
growing influence and authority of the Police Commission.) (Both Ono and H
succeeded in making Yonemura confess the bribery, but they refused to testify
same before the Police Commission.
Yonemura could hardly be expected to testify against Tao and Aihara.)
While the policemen
were in the conference with Nomura, Chief Kariya received a telephone message
from Harper to report to him immediately. When the Chief reported, he was quizzed why he
had not reported the stabbing case to him, about which he had heard in a round
about way. Chief Kariya alibied that it
was under investigation, and he intended to report it to Harper by tomorrow
morning, by which time he expected that the investigation would be
completed. (Now, it became evident to
the Police Department that they could not hide the matter any longer.
Meantime, Tao
had been working to hide evidence on the case.
He visited Dr. Iwata and asked him to destroy the record of
treating Ueda, and requested to refrain from making any report to the Internal
Security Office. Dr. Iwata refused to collude
with Tao.
In the evening
the police leaders held an informal meeting to discuss as to the disposition of
the matter, since it had become known to Harper. They decided to make the fight as a result of
drunkenness while they were enjoying a get-together party with home brew Sake,
not mentioning gambling. The police men acted on this decision and obtained
written statements from the both men to that effect. In addition, the victim, on a advice of Tao
and Yoneyama, stated in writing that the assailant had apologized and the
victim had accepted it.
February 4, 1944 Local Council Executive Board
M. Nagai
of the Executive Board requested to see Nishimoto this morning. He told the latter that the police and
Yoneyama’s group have been attempting to hush up the case of knife stabbing in
Block 4. Nagai was disturbed because the assailant had been released yesterday
without any charge, and because he had heard that the assailant and the victim
were both known to be incorrigible and habitual gamblers. They both had
violated the provisions of their probation, and if they were not punished for
the violation, it would have a far reaching consequence in the future in the reputation
and authority of the evacuee law-enforcing and legal agencies. Nagai suggested if the assailant at least
could be turned over to the FBI for investigation and punishment.
Nagai informed
Nishimoto that he had called in an agent of the FBI when a resident of his
block had been caught stealing about $2,500 from another resident in the
block. He believed an action by the FBI
would be the quickest and easiest way to take care of the present case,
inasmuch as some of the police force were colluding with the gambling interest.
More
conscientious and more virtuous residents in the north-east section of camp
were demanding a clean-up of vice element, although they were afraid to come
out in the open to take a leadership in a crusade. They were questioning competency of the
Police Department and the Police Commission in the dark, as Nagai put it.
Nishimoto
explained in detail how the circumstances surrounding the case were
shaping. He told Nagai that a report had
been filed by the Police Department to Harper this morning, and Harper would
act on I soon. It was not a good policy
to call in the FBI.
In the afternoon
an emergency meeting of the Police commissioner was called by Thomas Masuda,
a member of the Legal Department, in Burge’s office. Those present besides Masuda and the
Commissioners were Project Director Mills, Burge, Harper, Unit
Administrator Nomura, Chief Kariya, and Captain Aihara.
Masuda acted as the chairman of the meeting
and reported that the case had been reported to the Legal Department by the
Office of Internal Security for prosecution. Copies of the police report, the
signed statements of the parties involved in the case, and the record of their
previous convictions, which had been suspended with the probational provisions,
w ere scrutinized by the Commissioners.
Masuda first
asked them whether the case should be prosecuted. (From the way he explained, it was evident
that he was under strong pressure from some sources. He was timid and afraid to commit himself.)
Captain Aihara reported that Ueda had accepted an apology from Tanomaye and had
refused to file a formal complaint for criminal assault and battery. Nishimoto argued that without going into the
facts of the case it was too clear that some action must be taken against the
Japanese, for they had admitted they had been under the influence of intoxicating
liquor. They had admitted that they had
violated the probation, Nishimoto argued on, and in light of the admission
there could be no question that they must be prosecuted. Although the victim was not willing to file a
charge, either the Internal Security Officer or the Project Director had a
right to file a complaint. Burge
believed that they had been gambling, although it had not been mentioned in the
report or in the written statements. It
was too obvious, Burge thought, that
gambling had been involved because they had quarreled over money and they had
been convicted for gambling previously.
Besides, Burge reasoned, any violation of probationary terms should be
prosecuted and punished to the full extent.
Masuda, then,
asked the Commission to decide whether the case should be tried here or it
should be certified to the Superior Court of Yuma County. The attorney argued that
the case might not be properly prosecuted here, because he was afraid that the
public sentiment might be with the defendant and the prosecution might not be
successful. Burge, too, thought that the
judges might be afraid to pass a proper judgement in defiance of hostile public
opinion. Masuda further expressed his
concern that the judges would feel a terrible pressure from the community to
acquit the defendants, instead, he thought, it would be settled much simpler
should it be sent to Yuma.
Nishimoto took
a contrary view. He expressed that he
had a complete faith in the Judicial Commission of Unit I, because he had known
the members for a long time. (The members are K. Matsumoto, a member of
the Executive Board, Elmer Yamamoto, an attorney formerly of Los
Angeles, and Nomura) They were fearless
men, who would not be afraid to carry out their duties. The Judicial Commission had not been tested
to date, because no major case had been brought before them Nishimoto
argued. In order to maintain peace and
order in the community, the Judicial Commission must be respected and feared by
the residents, but they had had no occasion to know how respectful and
authoritative the evacuee judicial body was. If this major crime was handled
properly, the Judicial Commission would establish its reputation which would be
advantageous for crime curbing in the future.
Masuda was not
so confident as Nishimoto. He was afraid
that the evacuees might start a demonstration or a riot to save the
defendants. Public opinion could easily
be aroused to initiate on the side of their fellow Japanese, he stated. He cited the Poston strike of November to
save Uchida and George Fujii (a Police Commissioner present in the meeting).
Nishimoto asked
Fujii jokingly, “George, you didn’t stab anyone with a knife at that time, did
you? You aren’t a habitual drunkard or a
habitual gambler, are you?” Before Fujii
answered, Nishimoto talked to Masuda, “Tom, you seem to talk so much about
public opinion. You are not by any
chance interring that these residents here would actively campaign to save
criminals in obstruction of carrying out justice, are you? I have confidence in the Japanese people
here. I know they want law breakers
punished”
“I have
confidence in them, too,” Masuda replied.
“Personally I like to see it tried here.”
“Then, Tom, you
agree with me. There is no argument between
us as to where the case should be tried,” Nishimoto retorted.
“I’ll go
further than that,” Harper interrupted. “I’ll
state that the Office of Internal Security recommends that it be tried by the
evacuee judges here.”
The
Commissioners consulted among themselves and recommended the same.
The matter was referred to the Project
Director, who had been listening amusingly, for his approval. He, then, formally approved the decision of
the meeting that the case be turned over to the Judicial Commission of Unit I
for trial.
The conference was
concluded in thirty minutes after it had commenced.
After the
meeting, the Chief Kariya expressed that it was revealing to him that the
crimes could not be successfully hushed up in this project.
