Gila River: Exhibit 2: Handbook on Relocation
Exhibit 2.
5-15-1945
Informational
Handbook on Relocation
Where to go
Canal residents who want any kind of help in relocation planning should go to the Canal Administration office where the Relocation and WElfare offices are set up. Butte residents should contact the Relocation Office at Warehouse 69-8 or the Welfare Office at warehouse 69-10. People in these offices will do all they can to help you make your relocation plans.
Kinds of leave
There are now only two kinds of leave: short term leave and terminal leave. There is no longer any kind of trial or seasonal leave.
Short term leave
People who wish to go out to check their properties, or to attend to personal business matters, or to look for relocation opportunities for their family may ask for a short term leave which will ordinarily be granted up to 30 days. People onshort-term leave are not supposed to take jobs unless they wish to convert to terminal leave. If someone wishes to stay out then he should visit the nearest Relocation Offices at the place where he is going to live. By changing from short term leaves to terminal leave he will receive all the money that he would have received at the project if he had originally left on terminal leave. In other words he may apply on the outside for his leave grant, his railroad fare and his travel grant.
Terminal leave
Persons who have decided to relocate should go to the Relocation Office in Canal or Butte as the case may be. The Relocation Office will write out a cover sheet which is sent to the Leave Office. This cover sheet informs the Leave Office of the names of persons who are leaving and the date on which they intend to leave. If a hostel reservation is needed, then the Relocation Office will write for one. At the same time the Relocation Office will write to the Relocation Officer on the outside telling him the date of their arrival and may include a request to help out on housing, employment or any other assistance that may be needed. Persons should usually allow four days from the time they first see the Relocation Office and the time when they actually leave. However in emergencies it is possible to arrange for a departure in quicker time.
Trip to the Leave Office
When persons leave the Relocation Office they take the cover sheet to the Leave Office which is located in 69-9. The Leave Office will advise the relocators the best route of travel to their destinations and explain the railroad schedule which they will follow. Nearly all relocators will
Pullman space
Some persons will be entitled to Pullman accomodations when they are available. Usually only mothers with a baby under 18 months of age, expentant mothers more than 3 months pregnant, age persons over 65 years of age (if they are not strong) or persons seriously ill are eligible for Pullman berths at government expense. Pullmans are hard to get and will be more difficult to get as time goes on. Applications for Pullman space should be made at the Leave Office as far in advance as possible since it often takes 30 days or longer to get space.
Travel by auto
People who are traveling by private automobile when they relocate will be given a cash grant for traveling espense instead of railroad tickets. This grant will amount to 5¢ per mile for the car, regardless of how many people are riding in it. Before attempting to travel by car, relocators should get advice from the Relocation Office. OPA regulations forbid the giving out of gasoline coupons for round trips. Therefore relocators should not bring in their cars from California and then expect to obtain gasoline for a return trip.
Leave grants
Leave grants of $25 per person will be issued to each relocator in cash before he leaves the project on terminal leave if he does not have cash on hand or in the bank amounting to any more than $100 for each member of the family.
In addition to the $25 grant, a person will receive subsistence grants to pay the cost of his food while traveling. This grant will amount to $1 per meal or $3 per day for the time it takes to arrive at his destination.
Trip to Agent Cashier
After a person has made application for travel and subsistence grants and also for ration books in the Leave Office, he then goes to the Agent Cashier's office in the Annex building where he signs all the necessary vouchers. This does not take long.
Trip to Evacuee Property
From the Agent Cashier's Office a person goes to the Evacuee Property Office in 69-7. Here he can apply for packing boxes and arrange for crating and shipping of personal belongings at government expense. This crating service relieves persons from making their own boxes or crating their stuff. Boxes will be delivered at the barracks.
Checkable Baggage
Each person who travels by rail is entitled to check 150 lbs. of baggage on the train if he is traveling on a full fare ticket. Full fare tickets are issued to all persons 12 years or over. Persons between the ages of 6 and 12 travel on half fare tickets and are allowed 75 lbs. of free checkable baggage. Children who have not reached their sixth birthday do not need a railroad ticket and hence are not allowed any checkable baggage. All relocators are expected to take full advantage of baggage checking privileges.
Checkable baggage usually is limited to clothing, personal effects and such articles as baby carriages, bicycles, typewriters, tools, etc. Baggage should be packed in suitcases, trunks or wooden boxes which should not be over 72 inches long.
Any bags or other articles that you carry with you on the train will not be counted or weighed as part of your checkable baggage nor will you be charged for them.
Domestic animals (pets) may be shipped as checkable baggage provided they are properly crated. They can not be shipped as freight at government expense.
Freight Shipments
Usually a person has other property in addition to the 150 lbs. of checkable baggage which he wishes to be shipped. The Evacuee Property Office will, at the owner's request, pick it up at his home, crate it and ship it by freight to any destination within the United States.
There is no limit to the amount of personal property, such as furniture, radios, refrigerators, household goods, books, etc. which may be shipped at government expense by freight. Also if there is any business or farm equipment, it may be shipped, up to 5000 lbs. to the destination at government expense provided such shipment is approved by the Relocation Officer in that area.
Freight from the project may be shipped either before or after the owner leaves, but it should not be shipped unless there is an address where the property owner must be sure that complete arrangements have been made for delivery and storage.
Drayage
Property which is transported as baggage or freight must be moved from the railroad station or freight depot where it arrives to the owner's home at the expense of the relocator. Drayage costs usually run from 50¢ to $1.50 per 100 lbs., depending upon the distance and the total weight.
Express Shipments
Relocators may have urgently needed items shipped to their relocation address by express when approved by the Project Director. Such shipments are limited to 500 lbs. per family group and usually are delivered to the addressee by the carrier
Stored Property
Persons who have property in government warehouses or in private storage on the West Coast may request that such property be shipped at government expense. Complete arrangements for transportation of property in California should be made by the owner with the Evacuee Property Officer before he leaves the project even though he may not want the property shipped immediately.
Property in government storage in the evacuated area must be moved within 60 days from the date of approval of the application for relocation assistance. If the relocator is not prepared to receive this property at the and of 60 days he may apply in writing to the appropriate area Relocation Supervisor (we will give you his name) for an extention of time. A full explanation of the reasons why the property cannot be taken out at that time must be given with the application. The Area Supervisor may grant an extention of time up to 90 days. To put it briefly, your property should be moved from government storage within 60 days with a maximum time limit of 150 days.
Property stored in the center warehouse must be taken out within 60 days from the date a family leaves. No extention beyond the 60 days may be made for property stored in the center.
The Day Before Leaving
Checked baggage will be picked up at your home on the day before you are scheduled to leave. Baggage should be packed, but not locked or tied since it is inspected by the Internal Security at the time when the pick-up is made.
Relocators should also visit the Leave Office on the day before they leave to pick up their ration books, their outgoing pass and change of address cards. Aliens will be given the name and address of the U.S. Attorney in the community where they are going to live. After relocating, Aliens will be required to notify the U.S. Attorney at least seven days before they wish to take a trip or move to another house. Also, each Alien will be given a printed post card addressed to the FBI and the Immigration Service which should be filled in and mailed soon after arrival, giving these agencies their new addresses.
Also every person, citizen or alien, will be given similar Change of Address Cards addressed to the Washington WRA office and to the Project Director at Gila River. Men
After a relocator has been given the ration books, outgoing passes and Change of Address Cards, he will go to the Agent Cashier who will give out the relocation grants and will also give out a green colored transportation voucher which will be used to buy a railroad ticket (when special coaches are arranged the Leave Officer picks these up and buys the tickets). There should be one green slip for every person over 5 years of age who is relocating (unless the whole family goes and then there is one for the entire family).
The day you leave
On the day you leave be sure that your gate slip, outgoing passes and exclusion papers (in cases of Excludees) are carried on your person and not put away in your baggage.
Railroad Station-Buying Tickets, Checking Baggage
When a relocator reaches the railroad station in Chandler, Casa Grande, or Phoenix as the place may be, he should first get his railroad ticket and take this ticket to the baggage window in the depot for checking, He should not leave his baggage until he has received a check slip for each piece of baggage that he wishes to check. Each check will have a number and should have stamped on its face the names of two cities, the one where he gets on the train and the other where he gets off.
A relocator does not need to worry about his checkable baggage until he claims it at the end of his trip. For example if his baggage is checked from Phoenix to New York City he may claim his baggage by showing his checks at the baggage window in the New York City depot. He should be sure that he does not lose his baggage slips while on the trip.
Travel Tips
Travel in war time, when trains are overloaded because of military needs, is not as easy as in peace time. However, the following tips may help relocators to enjoy their trips,
- Ordinarily travel is easier on week days than on Saturdays or Sundays. Persons who do not have a definite place to live at their destination such as a room with a friend or a relative or a hostel reservation should by all means plan to arrive at their destination in the middle of the week when space is available in hotels and rooming houses. Most of the larger cities are so crowded with Servicemen and other visitors on week ends that it is impossible to get room reservations.
- Dress informally and comfortably on the train. Trains
― 355 ―are not always kept as clean as we would like. Many of the coaches now being used are old and dilapidated and often travellers may be pushed and jostled in crowds. A person will not be conspicious if he does not wear his good clothes because most of his fellow travelers will be wearing their old or sport clothes. - Generally if a person is traveling a long distance it is wise to eat lightly on the train. Diner facilities are usually overcrowded and prices are high. There are always a number of vendors, however, who walk through the coaches selling sandwiches, fruit, coffee, etc. It is usually a good idea to pack a small box lunch and take it with you on the train.
- A relocator should be sure to keep the envelope containing his railroad ticket and his baggage checks on his person so that he will not lose them or leave them behind as he may leave his seat.
- If a person is travelling with small children or people who need a special diet, he should speak to his conductor after he gets on the train, so that proper arrangements can be made with the Steward or Porter to warm babies' milk or help in any other way. If he wishes any special services such as help in carrying bags, etc., he should not hesitate to call on the porter. Porters expect to be given tips for such services. Tips ordinarily range from 15¢ to $1 depending on the amount of assistance they give. Tips to Red-Caps who carry luggage should average 10¢ per bag.
Travelers aid
If a relocator finds himself “lost” in a railroad depot of a strange city he should contact the Travelers' Aid Bureau in the depot. There will always be some one on duty at this Bureau who will be happy to assist him in getting in touch with the WRA office or locating addresses he may want to reach, or in finding train schedules.
Telegrams
If a relocator is expecting a person from the WRA office or anyone else to meet him at the train he should be sure to send a telegram from 12 to 24 hours in advance of his arrival. Special “Tour Rate” telegrams announcing time of arrival may be sent at the rate of 35¢ for 15 words.
Since large cities such as Chicago or New York have a great number of trains coming and going every day, it is necessary to give the name or number of the train, the railroad line, the station and the approximate time of arrival.
WILL ARRIVE CHICA GO LA SALLE ST. STATION ON ROCK ISLAND R.R. CALIFORNIAN. 9:30 A.M. JULY 4.
Signed
_____
_____
Leave Clearance
The Leave Office must check every person's leave clearance before he leaves the project. WRA no longer determines leave clearance. The Army does.
Nearly all Gila residents are now on the Army Clear List. Those who are cleared may relocate at any time they wish during the post-exclusion program to any section of the United States.
Some residents have been given Exclusion Orders by the Army which means that these persons may not relocate to California or any of the other West Coast or Southern Arizona areas from which Japanese Americans were evacuated. Excludees may relocate at any time, however, to any other section of the United States, including the East Coast and the Southern Gulf areas.
There are a few residents who are Segregees who cannot leave the center until they are cleared by the Army. Any Segregee who wishes to have his case reviewed may write a letter to the following address:
Commanding General
Western Defense Command
Presidio of San Francisco, California
Attention: Civil Affairs Division
This letter should ask for a review of the case. Ordinarily the case will be held before an Army Hearing Board at the center. The letter should be short, but should contain the applicant's name, address, and family number. Excludees can also write for a review of their case in the same manner, but they may want to wait until they have taken up residence on the outside.
Parolees and Deportees
Aliens who are on parole from an Internment Camp or who are subject to deportation proceedings by the Department of Justice must obtain a travel permit from the Immigration Service before they leave the center. This is arranged by the Relocation Office at the center. If Parolees or Deportees notify the Relocation Office in Canal or Butte two or three weeks before they plan to leave, letters will be written for permission to change addresses. When a permit to travel or change residence is given a Parolee or Deporte must report to the Immigration Service Office in the City where he is relocating within 24 hours after his arrival.
Parolees who wish to apply for a release from the parole should write to:
Edward J. Ennis
Director, Alien Enemy Control Unit
Department of Justice
Washington 25, D.C.
Ordinarily few releases are given to Parolees while they are still in the center. When releases are given it usually follows a review of the case which is supported by new evidence as to loyalty and attitude toward the American War Effort.
The Leave Office will remind every man 18 years of age or over that he must have in his possession at all times both a Selective Sefvice Registration Card (DSS form #2) and his notice of Classification (DSS form #57).
If either one of these draft cards have been lost, a duplicate should be obtained immediately by writing to the Local Board. The law also says that all men registered under the draft must keep their Local Board informed of their addresses at all times. As soon as a man over 18 moves he should be sure to send a penny post card to his Local Board giving them his name, his old address, and his new address.
Young men 17 or under must visit their Local Draft Board and register as soon as they reach their 18th birthday.
Exploratory Trips
The Project Director will in certain cases approve exploratory trips for representatives of 3 or more families who are interested in relocating together and in a place which is unknown to them. This will of course be made on a short term leave. There must be a pretty definite plan and it must also be approved by the Area Relocation Supervisor in the locality they wish to visit. Such representatives will be given a round trip coach ticket but no more. Any additional expenses must be paid by the interested group. Usually exploratory trips will not be approved to such cities as Chicago or Cleveland or New York where there are many evacuees now living and where conditions are fairly well known to everyone. Trips are usually granted to inspect farm offers of opportunities in areas where there are no evacuees living. In no case will a grant be given for an exploratory trip to the west coast. Only one person will, in any event, be given a coach ticket to represent one group.
Resettlement Assistance
After June 1, 1945 the WRA will provide resettlement assistance to evacuees at the project who need help during the first month of adjustment on the outside. Household equipment, transportation of household goods and personal effects from railway station to residence and one month's rent are the needs which may be provided for evacuees who are eligible.
There is a limited amount of money set up by the WRA for this assistance which will be given out on the basis of need.
When someone inquires about the possibility of getting resettlement assistance, it would be appreciated if such a person could be personally escorted to the Welfare Office where a determination can be made. The Head Counseler will approve or deny all applications.
The following example shows how resettlement assistance is given:
| Family Composition: | Man | 38 |
| Housewife | 31 | |
| Son | 7 | |
| Resources: Furniture: | 2 chairs | $10.00 |
| 1 table | 3.00 | |
| 2 blankets (light) | 4.00 | |
| clothes line | 1.75 | |
| iron | 1.25 | |
| pail | 1.00 | |
| $20.00 |
This family has no cash, no money in the bank or any other resources. This family of three would be eligible for $150.00 less the value of their resources and articles. The difference would be $130.00, which would be the amount of the grant.
The Social Security Board, through State and local departments of Welfare, will continue to provide resettlement assistance in all cases to meet unforseen needs occuring after the family's resettlement, due to illness, unemployment and similar adversities, including emergencies during the first month.
Bus Service to California
An arrangement has been made with the Greyhound BusCompany to transport relocating residents to Los Angeles and other points in California. All busses arranged for will go as far as Los Angeles. When there are sufficient numbers to go on, (say to Fresno or Sacramento) the bus will stop momentarily in LosAngeles and then go on with the load to those localities.
The bus from Rivers to San Francisco via Los Angeles, Fresno, and Central Valley points are:
- Leaves Rivers: 7:30 p.m.
- Arrives Los Angeles: 10:00 a.m.
- Leaves Los Angeles: 1:15 p.m.
- " Bakersfield: 3:30 p.m.
- " Tulare: 8:01 p.m.
- " Fresno: 9:43 p.m.
- " Merced: 11:59 p.m.
- " Modesto: 1:30 a.m.
- " Tracy: 2:43 p.m.
- " Livermore: 3:23 a.m.
- " Oakland: 4:33 a.m.
- Arrives San Francisco: 5:05 a.m.
Residents going to points beyond Los Angeles when there is not a full load will be assured seats on the next Greyhound bus leaving Los Angeles so that they will not need to wait for later bus service.
Those on short-term leave and not traveling at government expense will notice that the rates (including tax) for bus service are relatively low in comparison with other travel. The rates per full fare to the following points are as follows:
- Los Angeles: $6.33 one-way fare
- Fresno: 11.73 one-way fare
- Sacramento: 14.66 one-way fare
- San Francisco: 15.07 one-way fare
The Greyhound bus is unable to accommodate checkable baggage in the same amount as allowed by rail travel. They are, however, able to provide checkable baggage in the amount of two suitcases per person. All checkable baggage should be either suitcases or parcels not larger than an ordinary suitcase because of the limited amount of checkable space on the bus. A considerable amount of confusion can be avoided if all residents abide by this instruction. A few parcels can be carried inside of the bus; these may include bottles of drinking, water.
Courtesy of The Bancroft Library;;University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-6000, Phone: (510) 642-6481, Fax: (510) 642-7589, Email: bancref@library.berkeley.edu;;, URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/
http://content.cdlib.org/view?docId=bk000404f0c&brand=oac4
Title: [Exhibit 2:Handbook on Relocation]
Contributing Institution: The Bancroft Library;;University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-6000, Phone: (510) 642-6481, Fax: (510) 642-7589, Email: bancref@library.berkeley.edu;;, URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/
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