Pittston in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
The Honorable James A. Musto
October 12, 1899 - May 2, 1971
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), July 19, 2024
1. The Honorable James A. Musto Marker
Inscription.
The Honorable James A. Musto. October 12, 1899 - May 2, 1971.
A legislator serving Pittston City and surrounding communities from 1948 until his death in 1971., A true friend of the coal miner and all who labored to make a living and those in need.. James A. Musto was born into a large family of Italian immigrant parents. He had to leave school while in the third grade to help support his family. His first job was a breaker boy picking slate out of coal. While working in the coal mines he saw firsthand the terrible working conditions miners had to endure. As a young man he waged a fierce and stormy battle to organize labor against the barons of the coal industry, who used the miner as a tool to increase their own wealth without considering the miner's dignity as a human being. For all his efforts he was blackballed from working in the mines and became a target of threats on his life. To support his family, he became a barber and opened a small grocery store. He saw and heard the plight of the miner who suffered from the ill effects of silicosis of the lungs. He began his public service as a school director and then became a state representative. He could not forget the horrors of the coal miner and his family endured. He labored with faithful determination for passage of pioneer laws which provided needed benefits for those stricken with dread miner's asthma, also known as black lung. Governors and legislators followed the lead of the man from the anthracite fields who roared in the House of Representatives for the coal miner. The legislation he sponsored and fought for has provided millions of dollars to needy miners and their families. He worked with Congressman Daniel J. Flood, who sponsored and was successful in enacting Black Lung Benefits on the Federal level., When the waters of the Susquehanna River burst into the underground coal mines it effectively destroyed mining as an industry in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The economy of the area was supported by garment workers. Musto supported the ILGWU, the union of garment workers. ,br> His service didn't end in the legislative chamber. At home, he provided round the clock service to anyone who needed help.,
Written by his son, the Honorable Joseph J. Musto Endowed by his son and family, Mr. and Mrs. James A. Musto Jr..
House Bill No. 116, Act 335 of 1965, An Act Amending "The Pennsylvania Occupational Disease Act", Approved June 21, 1939 providing additional payments to, Employees totally disabled by Silicosis Anthraco-Silicosis Asbestosis., And said Bill having been read three times, considered and agreed to,, On the question, shall the Bill pass finally?. The Speaker: The chair recognizes the gentleman from Luzerne, Mr. Musto., Mr. Musto. "Mr. Speaker, I rise today to make a personal appeal to every member of this house. I have no desire to appear emotional because of what the Bill covers here today. However, the reason I make a personal appeal is that this Bill covers every totally disabled mineworker with silicosis who is fighting today to live and to pull a deep breath. And If I must say, although many people may not like it, if I had the foresight years ago, I would have opposed the total amount of awards of $12,000 which can be given to a totally disabled mineworker. Instead I would have proposed this Bill which is going to offer them better security if it passes the House today. Those mineworkers, who are many, are living with oxygen today some need a unit and a half a day to try to stay alive., Yet, it is so that some people are going to question how much money this is going to cost. The amount of money has already been placed in the Budget at the Governor's request. Now I am not going to elaborate much longer. I want to ask God to try to guide us all, and I want to ask every Member of this House on both sides to vote for this Bill which will establish something that is so badly needed., I will be satisfied to withdraw as Prime Sponsor if it would help this Bill to become Law to help these poor mine-workers for the rest of their days., With that in mind, I am going to ask God to be as good to every member of this House and to your families as he has been good to me and my family. I ask every member of this House, please consider House Bill 116 favorably."
A legislator serving Pittston City and surrounding communities from 1948 until his death in 1971.
A true friend of the coal miner and all who labored to make a living and those in need.
James A. Musto was born into a large family of Italian immigrant parents. He had to leave school while in the third grade to help support his family. His first job was a breaker boy picking slate out of coal. While working in the coal mines he saw firsthand the terrible working conditions miners had to endure. As a young man he waged a fierce and stormy battle to organize labor against the barons of the coal industry, who used the miner as a tool to increase their own wealth without considering the miner's dignity as a human being. For all his efforts he was blackballed from working in the mines and became a target of threats on his life. To support his family, he became a barber and opened a small grocery store. He saw and heard the plight of the miner who suffered from the ill effects of silicosis of the lungs. He began his public service as a school director and then became a state representative. He could not forget the horrors
Click or scan to see this page online
of the coal miner and his family endured. He labored with faithful determination for passage of pioneer laws which provided needed benefits for those stricken with dread miner's asthma, also known as black lung. Governors and legislators followed the lead of the man from the anthracite fields who roared in the House of Representatives for the coal miner. The legislation he sponsored and fought for has provided millions of dollars to needy miners and their families. He worked with Congressman Daniel J. Flood, who sponsored and was successful in enacting Black Lung Benefits on the Federal level.
When the waters of the Susquehanna River burst into the underground coal mines it effectively destroyed mining as an industry in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The economy of the area was supported by garment workers. Musto supported the ILGWU, the union of garment workers. ,br>
His service didn't end in the legislative chamber. At home, he provided round the clock service to anyone who needed help.
Written by his son, the Honorable Joseph J. Musto
Endowed by his son and family, Mr. and Mrs. James A. Musto Jr.
House Bill No. 116, Act 335 of 1965
An Act Amending "The Pennsylvania Occupational Disease Act"
Approved June 21, 1939 providing additional payments to
Employees totally disabled by
Silicosis Anthraco-Silicosis Asbestosis.
And said Bill having been read three times,
considered and agreed to,
On the question, shall the Bill pass finally?
The Speaker: The chair recognizes the gentleman from Luzerne, Mr. Musto.
Mr. Musto. "Mr. Speaker, I rise today to make a personal appeal to every member of this house. I have no desire to appear emotional because of what the Bill covers here today. However, the reason I make a personal appeal is that this Bill covers every totally disabled mineworker with silicosis who is fighting today to live and to pull a deep breath. And If I must say, although many people may not like it, if I had the foresight years ago, I would have opposed the total amount of awards of $12,000 which can be given to a totally disabled mineworker. Instead I would have proposed this Bill which is going to offer them better security if it passes the House today. Those mineworkers, who are many, are living with oxygen today some need a unit and a half a day to try to stay alive.
Yet, it is so that some people are going to question how much money this is going to cost. The amount of money has already been placed in the Budget at the Governor's request. Now I am not going to elaborate much longer. I want to ask God to try to guide us all, and I want to ask every Member of this House on both sides to vote for this Bill which will establish something that is so badly needed.
I will be satisfied to withdraw as Prime Sponsor if it would help this Bill to become Law to help these poor mine-workers for the rest of their days.
With that in mind, I am going to ask God to be as good to every member of this House and to your families as he has been good to me and my family. I ask every member of this House, please consider House Bill 116 favorably."
Topics.
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), July 19, 2024
2. The Honorable James A. Musto Marker [Second plaque]
Location. 41° 19.303′ N, 75° 47.458′ W. Marker is in Pittston, Pennsylvania, in Luzerne County. It is on South Main Street just north of Dock Street, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 30 S Main St, Pittston PA 18640, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Pennsylvania’s Anthracite Coal Region, in the Wyoming Valley, and in Greater Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. It is also in the American Northeast, in the Mid-Atlantic, in Appalachia, and specifically in Northern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
Credits. This page was last revised on July 22, 2024. It was originally submitted on July 22, 2024, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 224 times since then and 16 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on July 22, 2024, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
![The Honorable James A. Musto Marker [Second plaque] image. Click for full size.](Photos8/804/Photo804496.jpg?722202493800PM "The Honorable James A. Musto Marker [Second plaque]. Click for full size.")
