Finding Aid to the Wayne M. Collins Papers 1918-1974

Processed by Elizabeth Stephens and Linda Jordan

The Bancroft Library

University of California, Berkeley

Berkeley, CA 94720-6000

Phone: (510) 642-6481

Fax: (510) 642-7589

Email: bancref@library.berkeley.edu

1996

Finding Aid to the Wayne M. Collins Papers 1918-1974

Collection number: BANC MSS 78/177 c

The Bancroft Library

University of California, Berkeley

Berkeley, CA 94720-6000

Phone: (510) 642-6481

Fax: (510) 642-7589

Email: bancref@library.berkeley.edu

Finding Aid Author(s):: Processed by Elizabeth Stephens and Linda Jordan
Date Completed:: September 1996
Finding Aid Encoded By:: GenX

Collection Summary

Collection Title: Wayne M. Collins Papers

Date: 1918-1974

Date (bulk): 1945-1960

Collection Number: BANC MSS 78/177 c

Creator: Collins, Wayne M.

Extent: Number of containers: 33 boxes, 4 cartons Linear feet: 18.75 Microfilm: 38 reels

Repository: The Bancroft Library

University of California, Berkeley

Berkeley, CA 94720-6000

Phone: (510) 642-6481

Fax: (510) 642-7589

Email: bancref@library.berkeley.edu

Abstract: Consists of selected material remaining from Collins' San Francisco legal practice. Major portion of collection is devoted to his work as legal representative for the Tule Lake Defense Committee from 1945 to 1960. Includes correspondence, litigation documents for mass civil and equity suits filed for renunciants, individual case files, and financial files for the Committee's trust accounts.

Also includes Collins' legal files representing his civil liberties and general law practice, including case files and other materials concerning East Indian deportation, Levering Act/Loyalty Oath controversy, estate files of Astaroth Haskell and Bruce Porter, and the Berkeley Free Speech Movement. Also includes a small amount of personal papers, including family correspondence, genealogical, other biographical materials, and ephemera.

Languages Represented: Collection materials are in English

Physical Location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.

Information for Researchers

Access

Collection is open for research.

Publication Rights

Materials in these collections may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). In addition, the reproduction of some materials may be restricted by terms of University of California gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley 94720-6000. See: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/reference/permissions.html.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Wayne M. Collins papers, BANC MSS 78/177 c, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.

Related Collections

Japanese American Evacuation and Resettlement Records, BANC MSS 67/14 c

Records of the War Relocation Authority, 1942-1946: Field Basic Documentation, located at the National Archives...[microform], BANC FILM 1932.

Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

The Wayne M. (Mortimer) Collins Papers were given to The Bancroft Library by his son, Wayne M. (Merrill) Collins on March 22, 1978.

Funding

Funding for processing and partial microfilming provided by Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA) Title III: Networking, Preservation and Statewide Resource-sharing grant for the Japanese American Evacuation and Resettlement Records Project, 1994-1996.

This project was funded, in part, by a grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Japanese American Confinement Sites Grant Program. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Tule Lake Defense Committee History

In late 1944 and early 1945, over 5,000 native-born United States citizens of Japanese ancestry interned at Tule Lake Segregation Center renounced their U.S. citizenship. As a result, these renunciants were classified "alien enemies" under the provisions of the Alien Enemy Act. On July 14, 1945, President Truman issued Public Proclamation No. 2655 authorizing their removal to Japan. San Francisco attorney, Wayne M. Collins, began advising the renunciants of their legal rights during August 1945. For those desiring to remain in the United States, the first step was an appeal by letter to the Attorney General, withdrawing their renunciation on the grounds that it had been the direct result of governmental duress, private coercion, and undue influence.

After V-J Day the renunciants formed the Tule Lake Defense Committee to facilitate and finance what they foresaw as an extended legal process. Thirty-two committeemen and a five-person Executive Committee were selected from their ranks. The first Executive Committee (Chairman Harry Uchida, Yasuo Honda, Yoshiro Kaku, Fumio Masuoka, and George Tsuetaki) negotiated a verbal agreement with Collins to represent their legal interests and began raising money to finance the endeavor with pledges from members.

On November 13, 1945, Collins filed two mass class equity suits No. 25294 and No. 25295) and two mass class habeas corpus proceedings No. 25296 and No. 25297) in the U.S. District Court at San Francisco. Representing approximately 1,000 renunciants, these cases sought to determine nationality, prevent removal to Japan, end internment, and cancel renunciation. The lawsuits immediately stayed the removal of the internees to Japan and forced "mitigation hearings." These hearings, conducted in Tule Lake, California, Bismarck, North Dakota, and Sante Fe, New Mexico, resulted in the release and relocation of most of those in the enemy alien camps. Those remaining in enemy alien camps were eventually paroled into Collins' custody before the cancellation of their removal orders and their outright release. Collins and the Committee represented 4,754 persons in mass civil and equity suits. Of those, approximately 1,000 had their renunciations cancelled by final judgment, and administrative remedies were agreed upon for the rest.

In addition to the renunciants, Collins and the Committee represented individuals stranded in Japan during the war or deported for renunciation and unable to return to the United States (strandees), and Japanese Peruvians deported to the United States from Peru during the war, who were subsequently being deported from the United States to Japan (Japanese Peruvians).

Throughout the extended litigation, the Tule Lake Defense Committee maintained contact with the parties to the various suits and negotiations, informed them of progress, obtained evidence from and for them, and solicited contributions to defray expenses. They negotiated with Collins and monitored the trust fund created to disperse Committee funds until the disbanding of their Los Angeles office in 1958. The Committee remained a voluntary, unincorporated, nonprofit organization throughout its existence.

Scope and Content

The Wayne M. Collins Papers consist of selected material remaining from his San Francisco legal practice and a small number of personal papers, spanning the years 1918-1974.

The major portion of the collection is devoted to Collins' work as legal representative for the Tule Lake Defense Committee from 1945 to 1960. It includes correspondence, litigation documents for mass civil and equity suits filed for renunciants, individual case files, and financial files for the Committee's trust accounts, which Collins managed. Also included are Collins' case files for the 1944 "stockade cases," in which he represented evacuees imprisoned for violations of Tule Lake's special project regulations prohibiting Japanese Nationalistic activities, and American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) renunciant case files given to Collins in 1958 by Ernest Besig.

The remainder of Collins' legal Papers contain selected files representing his civil liberties and general law practice from 1947 to 1963. These include case files and other materials dealing with East Indian deportation, the Levering Act/Loyalty Oath controversy, estates of Collins' friends, Astaroth Haskell and Bruce Porter, and the Berkeley Free Speech Movement of 1964. Collins' office files include extensive correspondence with the Society for Helping Boys and the Swedenborgian Churches of San Francisco, Tokyo, and South Africa.

Finally, a small number of personal papers, including family correspondence, genealogical, and other biographical materials and ephemera are also included.

Series 1: Tule Lake Defense Committee Files 1940-1974 BANC MSS 78/177 c

Physical Description:

Extent: Boxes 1-30; Reels 1-38

Arrangement

Divided into nine sub-series: Authorizations and Reports, Correspondence, Mass Civil and Equity Litigation Documents, Individual Case Files, American Civil Liberties Union Files, Miscellaneous, Related Material, and Tule Lake Renunciant Trust.

Correspondence is further divided into General Office and Litigation. General Office correspondence consists of letters, memos, and form letters between the offices of Wayne M. Collins and the Tule Lake Defense Committee, from either office to the renunciants, and miscellaneous correspondence between members of the Tule Lake Defense Committee, including Tetsujiro (Tex) Nakamura, Harry Uchida, Larry Seiichi Kataoka and others. Litigation correspondence consists of letters to and from Collins regarding litigation on behalf of the renunciants.

Content/Description

Mass Civil and Equity Litigation Documents contain copies of legal documents filed on behalf of renunciants. While fairly extensive, it is by no means exhaustive; for a complete set of litigation records, contact The National Archives Western Division.

Individual Case Files are further divided into Renunciants, Strandees, Japanese Peruvians, and Stockade Cases, and may contain correspondence, forms, and litigation records. The American Civil Liberties Union Files were given to Collins by Ernest Besig and include correspondence and case files, arranged alphabetically, as well as miscellaneous meeting minutes and other material. Miscellaneous consists of material related to the court cases and mitigation hearings in Bismark, North Dakota, Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Tule Lake, California. Related Material includes public proclamations, congressional acts, and news releases, with other similar material related to the evacuation and resettlement of the Japanese and Japanese Americans. The Tule Lake Renunciant Trust consists of the financial records of the Tule Lake Defense Committee, administered by Wayne M. Collins.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Japanese Americans -- Evacuation and relocation, 1942-1945

Authorization and Reports, 1945 BANC MSS 78/177 c

box 1, folder 1

Committee Authorization 1945 BANC MSS 78/177 c