Bainbridge Island paused last week to mark the 75th anniversary of the removal of Japanese Americans from the island.

The Review’s publishers, Walt and Millie Woodward, were outspoken critics of the removal and detainment of their fellow citizens, neighbors and islanders. Today we honor their courage by republishing their front-page editorial that ran in the Review in that fateful final week before the first 227 of 120,000 Japanese Americans were taken from their homes.

The time element of the evacuation of Bainbridge Island’s Japanese alien and Japanese-American citizen population is an outrage!

The Review long has contended that the evacuation of Japanese-American citizens (not aliens) would be an outrage, itself, against all the precious rights of citizenship guaranteed by our constitution. The time to argue that point has long passed, however.

We cry out now not against the evacuation, but against its modus operandi. To us it is pointless and merciless in its speed.

From December 7 — when Japanese bombers roared against Pearl Harbor—until now is a period of more than three months. During that lengthy time, we have heard of no overt act by any Japanese resident — alien or citizen — against our government or its many military and naval establishments hereabouts. In the meantime, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has investigated all Japanese here thoroughly and has arrested those few it found suspicious. The F.B.I. seemed to have the situation well in hand.

Yet, with a sudden awfulness unequaled on this continent since that day in 1765 when 6,000 French were driven from Acadia, our Japanese neighbors were told Tuesday (that was the official date of the Army order) that by next Monday they must be gone, bag and not much baggage. That is only a six-days notice.

Why such haste in view of the peaceful three-month record of these people? Why could not a two-week notice, or three-week, have been given them? Why could not time have been given them so that they could, have taken advantage of the Army’s “voluntary evacuation” order and avoided being herded like so many sheep? In the short few days given, that “voluntary” opportunity is just a piece of irony.

Perhaps we wouldn’t make this protest (which, we realize, will not be at all popular with those persons who do not know our Japanese neighbors) if only aliens were concerned. They, certainly, must be ready to face harsh wartime measures. But we are talking here about 191 AMERICAN CITIZENS! Where, in the face of their fine record since December 7, in the face of their rights of citizenship, in the face of their own relatives being drafted and enlisting in our Army, in the face of American decency, is there any excuse for this high handed. much-too-short evacuation order?

We hope this statement of ours doesn’t embarrass them. We say this on our own accord. It is not an echo of anything we have heard a single Japanese say. They are taking this treatment without a single bitter word. At least we have heard none.

Whom to blame for this is a pointless thing on which to speculate. An Army general named DeWitt actually signed the order, based on a proclamation by President Roosevelt. A jittery Navy undoubtedly had a part in it.

A fine group of Army officers and men, each apparently trying to make the ordeal as painless as possible, is here handling the situation. Of course they can’t be blamed, for they are merely obeying orders. Their splendid attitude has won for them the admiration and thanks of the whole Island.

There probably would be no justification for this outburst if we didn’t think it would do some good. It won’t help Island Japanese, that’s true. But it may make those responsible for future evacuations aware of the fact that six days is not sufficient time in which to ask a large community to move itself. We can see no valid excuse for such undue speed.