Abstract
(NCACLU), traveled from San Francisco to the Oregon border in the heat of summer, 1944. His purpose was to interview Japanese Americans held in the stockades at the Tule Lake camp without charges, hearings, or counsel. Besig never completed his task. First the camp director imposed limits on Besig's access to prisoners; ultimately, Besig was ordered off the premises. Moreover, on the way back to San Francisco, Besig's car malfunctioned. A visit to a mechanic revealed that salt had been poured into his gas tank. Convinced that the vandalized car, the illegal restrictions imposed on the stockaded men, and the camp director's behavior all bespoke Gestapo methods, he immediately contacted the ACLU's executive director, Roger Baldwin. The WRA [War Relocation Authority, the civilian administrative agency for the camps] is running a private prison, he reported in a telegram urging Baldwin's immediate intervention and his presence at the camp.
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