CURFEW TRIAL OF JAP IS STARTED

While other prisoners in King County jail grow restless with nothing to do, Gordon Kiyoshi Hirabayashi, 24-year-old Seattle Japanese on trial today on charges of violating the evacuation and curfew orders last May, told a reporter this morning that he has received approximately 500 letters since his case was given publicity, many of them agreeing with his stand that the evacuation orders were in violation of his constitutional rights as a citizen.

Few From Japanese

There have been letters from as far away as Vermont, the Carolinas, Pennsylvania and New York, a great many from residents on the West Coast, 80 per cent of them being from Caucasians, with few from Japanese in camps.

Hirabayashi said that he was acquainted with a lot of his correspondents, but that some were strangers to him. He said that he didn't think that those who disagreed with him would take the trouble to write.

"I am in a room in the jail with about 40 other men," he said. "And it gets pretty noisy, so I haven't been able to keep on studying. But I have been trying to answer these letters, and instead of the time hanging heavy on my hands, the days haven't been long enough."

Hirabayashi, who was born in Seattle, was a senior at the University of Washington, majoring in mathematics, but planning to change his major to sociology. he said that some Japanese have written and said that they felt as he did and that if they had thought the situation over they might have joined him in his stand. The Japanese boys said that others in camp, however, felt that cooperation was the best thing, hoping that they would get a "break" later from the government if they would cooperate now.

Father is First Witness

First witness called to the stand this forenoon was Hirabayashi's father, Shungo Hirabayashi, who with the boy's mother was brought here from the Japanese relocation camp at Tule Lake, Calif. The defendant said it was nice to see his parents again, but that he was sorry that the only place they could stay was in jail and that some of his friends were hoping to have them stay with them.

The case is being tried before United States District Judge Lloyd L. Black. A jury of two women and ten men was chosen without peremptory challenges on either side.

J. Charles Dennis, United States attorney, is representing the government, and Hirabayashi's counsel is Frank Walters.

In his opening statement Dennis said that the evidence would show that Hirabayashi refused to report for evacuation although authorities tried to convince him that he should, and refused to obey the curfew law for Japanese.

Other witnesses were Floyd Schmoe and Ralph Seaton, who testified that they had seen Hirabayashi that they had seen Hirabayashi out of his home after 8 o'clock at night after the curfew order was effective.

Hirabayashi is a Quaker, a member of the Friends' Society.