​Letter to the Office of the Custodian from Yoichi Okuma

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Image Description
Scanned black-and-white microfilm of a typewritten copy of a letter addressed to the government from Yoichi Okuma regarding dispossession of their property.
Sender's Address
P.O. Box 77,
Picture Butte, Alberta
Recipient Address
​Office of the Custodian,
506 Royal Bank Building,
Hastings and Granville,
Vancouver, British Columbia
Body

P.O. [post office] Box 77,
Picture Butte, Alta. [Alberta]
July 3, 1944.

File No. 5445-2

Office of the Custodian,
506 Royal Bank Bldg.,
Hastings & Granville,
Vancouver, B.C.

Dear Sir:

Re: Land Sale.

I have received your statement concerning my land sale and have a few comments to make.

First of all from whom did you get the permission to sell my property? You are taking too much advantage of me. The price for which you made the sale is most disappointing. The house alone is worth more, about $5000.00 at least. And consider the other buildings like barn, 2 garages, 2 lot houses, pickerhouses, wood-shed etc. these cannot be built for nothing. I must say that you've sold my land and all the buildings just as good as free. When I purchased this land it was all bush and I paid $300.00 an acre. By the time I got finished clearing the land it has cost me about $500.00 an acre. And to put in all the different crops has cost me more money. You don't realize the hard labour, money and time it has taken to build up to what I have. Thirty years of hard work and building up one by one has gone to ruins. What is the idea making such an unreasonable transaction? This land is worth one million dollars.

Yours truly,

"Y. OKUMA"