Letter from Lincoln Kanai, Executive Secretary, Japanese YMCA, to Milton Stover Eisenhower, Director, War Relocation Authority

" *eOPY oF IETTER SENT TO |

Mir. R. Neustadt 15350 Buchanan street

tir. RL. Nicholson San Francisco, Caaif.

Mr, Milton Eisenhower,

Hotel Whitcomb,

San Francisco, Calif.

Dear Mr. Nicholson:

Thus far, very little has been done to bolster the morale of the Americans of

Japanese ancestry. About 75 to 90 percent of them in the past week have been

unemployed and awaiting further plans. These persons have been spending their

dwindling funds am are among the most bewildered and tragic persons. I am sure that

your department or some department of the Federal Government will serve in this case so

that these dwindling funds which in many cases have been coing to hospitalization,

payment of loans, insurance policies, storage, and preparations, ete. are minimized and

sibsistence expenses are given. In the mean time, nothing has been done to use or hire

these persons that have been unemployed as a result of the orders of the Western

Command. .

I called Ronald Born of the County Relief office and found only three cases that

have been given relief since the first order of evacuation from the restricted areas

other than the evacuees. According to a hasty figure of those who contacted this office

at 1530 Buchanan Street, over a hundred persons should have been given consideration.It

seems obvious that a communal system is being used to assist mutually those dwindling

funds when these cases: should be aided from funds that have been allotted by the

Federal Government for this purpose.

With every question presented to officials, the inquiring groups have been asked

voluntarily consider the problem and solve them thru their own leadership and expense

rather than the Federal Government's. In order to save this situation, I would suggest

the employment of personnel so that these persons can be utilized to settle each other's

problems, some persons employed from the Nisei community to assist during evacuation,

at encampment, am during relocation. That this is another example of a social problem

by a*long arm" policy requiring an intimate contact which can only be produced by 3

interweaving personnel and utilizing previously established personal contacts. Many 78

social work has failed because social workers have been too"aloof" from the work and

problem itself.

ENCAMPMENT AND RELOCATION:

With the coming evacuation, the need of preliminary phanning is imperative to good

social planning. The need is therefore for community groups that are already in

existence to be able to assist in the present planning so that as encampment and

relocation takes place, the processes keeping social values are kept alive.

ae A program of education,

For children, advanced students, work projects, etc.

The use of friendly persons of all nationalities is desireadhe.

b. A program fa social welfare, medical attention,

ec. A program for recreation,

d. An open and voluntary process for individual and family absorption to areas

outside of Zone I. :

e. A program where recognized social agencies can continue in the processes of

: Ps Anericanizetion, es building, Pde work, OK Eke (6. Be ee eek

We are part4cularly conedrned with groups wificn are fringing pressure to exploit the

evacuees so that they well become peons, labor colonies, barbed wire legions, ete.

: 5 eS Sincerely,

x err Bath ffcctale coe

aug f ils : ee i. Kanai', Exec. Sec'y, yyca |

brn te Va Le bee. , f :