Evening star., 1943-06-11
Raised Own Ensign
And Defied Guards
In Poston Camp
By the Associated Press.

LOS ANGELES, June 11.-Jap-
anese evacuees looked for a speedy
defeat of the United States, and
cached stolen food in the desert for
expected paratroopers and other in
vasion forces, a former official of
the Poston (AriZ) Relocation Center
told the Dies congressional sub
committee
Tie testimony was included in a
transcript of a secret session held
by the committee here May Is, at
which Harold H. Townsend, former
chief supply and transportation
officer at the Poston camp, was the
witness
Mr. Townsend testified that he
had been told at least score OF
times by occupants of the camp
that they would have our country
before long. In other words" he
added, that camp is 100 per cent
OF the idea that Japan will have
the United States in a few months
They are very frank about it
Planned Fifth Column.
There are over 1000 japanese
soldiers and Japanese officers IN
that camp" Mr.. Townsend declared
If you ask them, Were you fellows
organizing on the West Coast?' they
will say, Yes, we had our program
all set up I have asked them
What were you going to do?' and
the answer was, AS soon as our
soldiers come over we were going
TO help them"
The japanese, he testified. are
drilling over there almost daily in
military tactics, right under our
noses in that camp"
Through the operation of a
"thieving ring" in the camp, Mr.
Townsend said, approximately $500
worth of supplies was stolen daily
either from trucks transporting it
from the rail head at Parker, Ariz.,
and the camp. or from the camp
warehouse. This was effected, he
said. through an exchange of passes
by the japanese occupants.
The information that was fur
nlshed me by certain friendly
groups was that they had placed
different types of emergency food
In secret cellars under the mess
halls for the invasion armies and
parachute troops" the witness said
Food Better Than Army's.
Mr. Townsend. who said that in
former employment he had to do
with Army and Navy contracts, de-
clared food served to the japanese
at Poston was about 25 per cent
better than that provided by the
United States Army.
I'VE purchased $3.50 pounds of
bread daily Mr.. Townsend testi-
fed, the transcript showed. They
'the Japanese) are not great bread
eaters. The majority of this bread
was dried and stored away.
But in addition to that they had
large caches of food throughout the
desert, buried, that could be used
for similar purposes. We were con-
stantly trying to find out what was
happening to certain supplies. "
We constantly had probably Is OF
20 lnformants that kept us advised
as to certain storages within the
camp area"
Recalls Camp Riot.
Describing riot at the camp last
November 18, Mr.. Townsend said
that amid defiant cat-calls the jap
anese flag was hoisted on a pole in
front of the Jail and the American
flag was absent from many places. "
The inmates later raised another
Japanese flag which flew there for
two weeks and our own f1ag-all the
flags at the camp-were taken
down"
"Loudspeakers, stolen from the
warehouse, had been installed and
the Japanese national anthem was
heard through the camp, with wild
cheers and loud demonstrate tions to-
ward setting fire to the whole
camp he continued.
Mr.. Townsend said the riot con-
tinued because the War Relocation
Authority, the War Department. the
Justice Department and the Indian
Service would not assume RESPONSE
bility."
Troops Were Nearby.
The riot had grown to such pro-
portions that they were threatening
to eliminate the Caucasian force.
he testified, 'and the management
of no department would call the
M. P. Company 323, which was on
the other side o: the boulevard or
roadway. They were stationed there
with bayonets fixed and machine
guns, but they couldn't get author
lty to come cross the highway. The
japanese thought, of course, that
they were afraid"
Mr.. Townsend pictured "the poor
simpleton. covering Caucasian en-
pioyes standing around like whipped