Japanese Leave Portland Center for Inland Homes

The first contingent of 500 Japanese aliens and American-born Japanese Saturday evening left the Portland assembly center for relocation in Wyoming. Other groups will follow and by September 10 the center will be evacuated. Most of those leaving Saturday smiled broadly as they boarded the special train with their baggage. Numerous youngsters were in the contingent and excited happily [illegible] the train ride. The Saturday contingent was entirely from the state of Washington. The [illegible] Japanese in the center turned out to see them off.

Japanese Again Start Migration

Five-hundred more Japanese from the Puyallup center near Tacoma, Wash., are expected to arrive at the Eden relocation camp today as shifting of Japanese from the coast camp got underway again Saturday after transfers were halted for a seven-day period.

At the present time there are approximately 3,700 Japanese at the Eden camp. The new arrivals, starting today, will come in at the rate of 500 daily by train until 3,500 more will have arrived. After those remaining in the Puyallup center are brought here there are an additional 2,500 scheduled to be moved from the Portland assembly center. After the Portland transfers have been completed there will be between 9,600 and 10,000 Japanese residing at the Eden location.

About 80 workers will remain behind at Puyallup to clean up the grounds and buildings at the western Washington fair grounds.

Japanese Lave For New Location

Assembly Center in North Portland Abandoned for New and Wyoming Homes

By Ray Beadle

North Portland assembly center took on the atmosphere of Union Station Saturday evening.

Occasion was the departure in 10 railroad care of 500 Japanese and Japanese-Americans first contingent to head for the new Heart Mountain relocation center at Vocation, Myo.

And the little brown members of America's enemy race registered all the emotions that might be expected of an American group under the same circumstances.

Real Tears Shed By Many Young Girls

Though headed for infinitely better quarters than the rambling, low livestock pavilion that has been their home for some three months, many evacuees obviously were grief-stricken at leaving close friends they won't see again for the duration.

Many friendships will be split up, some of them said, because only part of them said, because only part of the center population is going to the Heart Mountain camp. Others will go to the Minidoka center at Eden, Idaho.

Real tears were shed by many a young girl torn away from a romance which blossomed at the center here, and tearful, too, was a small boy who tightly clutched a neatly-fashioned model pursuit plane which bore United States army insignia on its wings.

Youngsters Excited

Not all were said, however. Eager excitement was registered by scores of youngsters looking forward to the longest train ride most of them ever had, and as do small boys of every race, dozens of excited youngsters lined wooden fences within the center grounds watching the feverish departure preparations.

No railroad porter ever worked as fast as the husky, high school age youths who trundled cartloads of baggage to the waiting cars, and who carried the wheeled loads up bumpy inclines to the sidings built for unloading cattle.

The train included eight coaches, two tourist cars, and two baggage cars. Later two diners were to be added.

Good Treatment Promised

In the tourist cars rode 24 mothers with infants; also the ill and infirm. The contingent was attended by one doctor and two nurses.

"They will get the best of treatment," commented one of the M.P.'s supervising the proceedings.

Second group of evacuees will leave the center late today, also headed for the Heart Mountain center.

Rest of the evacuees will go to the Minidoka center. Groups of 500 will leave September 6, 7 and 8, and the final contingent is expected to go September 9.

Army Relinquishes Control

For the first time since the Japanese were placed in assembly centers, the army will relinquish its control over them when they arrive at the inland relocation points.

There the war relocation authority, a civilian agency, will assume command, and the army's only concern will be to provide building for the duration.

Immediately upon evacuation of the livestock show pavilion here, the army will take over the building for the duration, Bendetsen said.

According to T.B. Wilcox Jr., president of the Pacific International Livestock exposition, the army's occupation will not interfere with the 4-H club fat stock sale planned for early October in place of the exposition. The sale will be held at the adjoining stock yards.

New Set-up For Hiring Japanese

A revised hiring procedure to stimulate the recruiting of Japanese evacuees at Eden and other center for work at prevailing pay on sugar beets and other crops in the intermountain states, announced in Washington last night, has been in the hands of the Amalgamated Sugar company officials here and members of the special Twin Falls county farm labor committee for more than a week.

Harry Elcock, district manager of the Amalgamated and agent for the Twin Falls committee in the hiring of Japanese labor, helped war relocation authority officials draw up the new procedure at a meeting in Salt Lake City two weeks ago.

Under the new plan, every farmer needing help for the harvest will make a definite offer of employment by sending to the United States employment service a form showing the type of work, its probably duration, wages to be paid and the housing facilities offered.

Becomes Binding Agreement

The U.S.E.S., if labor is not available from usual sources in the locality, will forward the offer to WRA for submission to the Japanese at assembly centers and relocation communities. When accepted by the evacuees, the offer becomes a binding agreement subject to termination by either party on five days' notice.

About 1,500 evaucees from the Pacific coast military area now are working in the beet fields of eastern Oregon, Idaho, Utah, and Montana.

The new program makes full use of the United States employment service, which maintains 15 offices in southern Idaho.

Other Conditions the Same

Other conditions governing recruitment of evacuees for farm work remain the same as before. In each case, the governor of the state and the local law enforcement officers must provide assurances that law and order will be maintained.

In Idaho, 15 countries comprising most of the southern part of the state where Japanese labor is needed have already been certified by the WRA on approval of county authorities countersigned by Gov. Clark.

Transportation and housing will be furnished by the employer and prevailing wages will be paid.

Japanese Terms Idaho Project's Future Stirring

SEATTLE, Aug. 19 (AP) -- A recreational leader among the Japanese who were transferred last week to the Minidoka relocation center in southern Idaho wrote to a Seattle newspaper that the residents of the project are impressed with its potentialities.

"Some day," wrote American-born Bob Hosokawa, "with patience, hard work and faith in our government, this will be a living tribute to the foresight of our administration and to the American Japanese. Here there are facilities which are adequate and potentialities which are stirring. We can strive to build a model American community, based on the democratic way of life. Some day our fellow Americans will be proud to point to Minidoka."