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Show 4 IJap Labor Declared Vital To Save Crops I . ...... . .. , . . ......v.'.'v-v.- Plan To Use Evacuees Is Made Public Tomatoes, Beets Harvesting In Danger BY LINCOLN THOMSON "Unless we can find a new labor reservoir of 40 to 50 per cent more workers to take the place of those In the armed forces forc-es and those who have gone Into Industry, It will be Impossible to harvest the tomato and beet crop; and Japanese evacuee labor Is the answer," said Selvoy J. Boyer, chairman of the Utah State Labor Committee today. In a survey made a week ago by H. C. McShane, secretary of the U. S. Employment Service, and Harry Cahlll, executive secretary sec-retary of the Utah Canners Association, Asso-ciation, it was disclosed that of 294 acres of the 4,600 acre tomato toma-to crop In Davis county ready for canning, only 40 per cent of the labor needed could be obtained to harvest the crop. Normally, 294 acres would take about 90 to 100 workers to do the harvesting. v -" - '. ' , ' - ' 'i ' s ? The Mitsungas Do Their Part To Win The War For America Marlko Mitsunga, Hairy Mitstmga, Tomio Mitsunga, B. Mitsun ga and Hiroshi Mitsnnga help gather Utah's tomato crop. The survey also disclosed that In the canning factories of Weber, Web-er, Davis and Box Elder counties, coun-ties, a shortage of 405 women and 241 men exists. "The government," said Mr. McShane, "is going to take 60 -per cent of the tomato crop, and if that is not enough, as much more as it needs. Unless we can get the whole crop In cans, the civilian population is going to go without." In the beet industry, Mr Boyer pointed out the fact that Japanese Japan-ese labor so far has been responsible respon-sible for much of the thinning and weeding up to the present time. "We can Just as well face the facts," commented Mr. Boyer. "If It had not been for Japanese labor much of the beet crop in Utah and Idaho would have hud to be plowed up. We have a chance now to get our beets harvested har-vested by using relocation evacuees evac-uees from California. WANT TO WORK "These people are industrious ?eople who want to work, and f they can save our crops, they must be made to feel that they are wanted and must not be discriminated against Suggestions that relocation evacuees be put In concentration camps and paid $30 a month is ridiculous. We are fighting this war to end slavery slav-ery and tyranny wherever it exists," ex-ists," Mr. Boyer pointed out. Mr. McShane showed how the government had registered all alien Japanese and Americans of Japnese extraction, given them numbers, photographed them and fingerprinted them. They are not allowed to go from one county to another without permission from the War Relocation Relo-cation Authorities, and unless employment em-ployment Is available in another section, they cannot be taken away. "If we will treat these evacuees evac-uees like citizens and friendly aliens and not like enemy slaves, we will be able to get the work done. Many of them live In fear of reprisals and also are afraid that they will be regimented in '.he fields. Should we do thet our work will not get done," said Mr. McShane. Under a new plan, worked out by the WRA and the U. S. Employment Service, each farm operator needing additional help for harvest work will make a definite offer of employment by filling out the proper form. On the form, he will indicate the type of work involved, its probable prob-able duration, the wages he will pay and housing facilities available avail-able for the workers. In each case, the farmer will submit the completed form to the nearest off:- of the U. S. Em ployment Service. If labor Is not available from ordinary sources sourc-es in the locality, the employment employ-ment service will then forward the offer of employment to the war relocation authority for consideration con-sideration and submission to evacuees at assembly centers and relocation communities. When accepted ac-cepted by the evacuees, the offer of-fer becomes binding and subject to termination by either the farm operator or evacuee on five days notice. The farm operator must pay the fare to and from the location loca-tion center, must have proper housing and adequate food. When the job is terminated the evacuee must be returned to his center. There will be from 7,500 to 10,000 Japanese evacuees at the camp at Abraham in Millard County by Sept. 20. These evacuees will be available for work by making application to the field offices of the WRA. "The principal advantage of the new procedure," said Dillon S. Myer, director of the War Relocation Authority, "is that it provides the evacuee with a definite defi-nite offer of employment. Before Be-fore accepting the job and leaving leav-ing the relocation center, he knows how long it will last, how much he will be paid and what his living conditions will be. The net effect should speed up recruitment re-cruitment for vital harvest work." EDITOR SPEAKS Larry Tajlrl, managing editor of the Pacific Citizen, official publication of the Japanese American Amer-ican Citizens League, spoke for the Japanese evacuees today when he said: "Evacuees of Japanese ancestry ances-try have already made a singular singu-lar contribution toward the nation's na-tion's war effort as volunteer farm workers in the beet fields of the intermountain west. "In the acute labor shortage this spring In southern Idaho, they are credited with a large share in saving the $16,000,000 sugar beet crop. . . . "Wartime exigencies have decreed de-creed the evacuation of persons of Japanese race from the Pacific Pa-cific Coast and their relocation in inland areas. The very fanm workers who are so sorely needed need-ed today are indispensable to the relocation centers where their labor la-bor is wanted for land subjugation subjuga-tion and cultivation so that these evacuee communities may become be-come self-sustaining. . . . They are to be paid prevailing wages and they are to have conditions equal to their status as citizens or aliens. "Any proposal to establish concentration camps for these volunteer farm workers, such as that made by -certain people In Salt Lake County and any proposal pro-posal for the regimentation of such labor under virtual slave conditions Is a negation of that democracy for which the men of Utah and the men of free America Amer-ica are fighting on the world's far-flung fronts. We condemn any such proposals for the imposition im-position of fascistic conditions upon free-born American citizens, citi-zens, be they of Japanese race "Thousands of evacuee Japanese Japan-ese will assist in the harvesting of tiie fall crops of the Inland west We are recommending that they do their part, as hundreds hun-dreds of them have already done this summer in the fields of Utah, Idaho and other western states, in winning the battle of production. We hope that the contribution of these volunteer workers will be recognized as a contribution toward the war effort of the United Nations. We hope that these Americans of Japanese, extraction will be treated as Americans." |
