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The Pastore Legend -
From Classical High School to Pastore’s First Victory
by Comm. Joseph R. Muratore
Pastore graduated from Classical High school; he was admitted to the chapter of
the Cum Laude Society on May 25, 1925. While in high school he carried three
heavy subjects all in preparation to be admitted to college, which were French,
Latin, and Greek. He always obtained good report cards although he had extremely
poor vision and couldn't see the blackboard from his seat. His parents could not
afford to have his eyes examined or have glasses made. He was encouraged by many
teachers that he was a good candidate for admission to a good college if he
continued with his studies and good grades.
 There were no other children from his mother Ermina's second marriage to
Salvotore Pastore, but he was very strict with the five step children that were
in his household. His step father did not believe in children being educated
beyond the eighth grade, and he believed the children should help support the
family. John Pastore often wondered if he would be able to obtain the education
he dreamed of.
John, apparently to keep peace in the household, while in high school while
working in a jewelry shop which made John's school hours very difficult. It was
John's mother who strongly supported his wish to continue his education. Who
thought that John should complete his high school education due to his high
grades, his personal discipline, and his reasoning ability. John always gave
credit to his mother for his success, and he always admired his mother through
the many sacrifices she made for him. She asked him to live at home until he
married at 34 years old.
After graduating Classical High school, John applied and was accepted to Brown
University. However John being a realist soon realized that neither he, or his
family could afford the tuition required.
This was at the time long before the Pell Grants or local or federal
scholarships were available for children of families who children qualified for
college education but could not afford the expense of tuition.
This financial inability gave his step father more reason to encourage John to
find a job. John took a full time job at Narragansett Electric Company to
satisfy the company's customer complaints regarding bills issued.
The financial conditions that John found himself in were very disturbing to
him. We must remember that this all took place in the late 1920s, however, John
tried hard to continue with courage and hope that the family conditions would
improve. What upset John most, and he suffered in silence, was that several of
his Arthur Avenue friends were already in college. They were Americo Salvastano,
William D'ugo, and Bruno DeFusco, who were already in medical colleges and,
after two years had passed, John put his mind at peace and concluded that
becoming a doctor was a financial impossibility for him and his family.
Again, after much discussion with his mother, she suggested to him that he
attend the two-year law college that was conducting evening class at the local
Young Men's Christian Association [YMCA] by the North Eastern University*.
Knowing the respect and influence that he had in the local social Italian clubs
where he had gained a reputation for his clear reasoning and effective speech
and clear voice, she was convinced that he would make a good lawyer and that law
training required a shorter period then the requirements for time and money
needed to become a doctor and less demanding. After two years away from high
school, John reviewed his studies and enrolled in night classes held at the YMCA
building. He qualified to enter the college, and after he had attended classes
only at night he took his bar examination in 1932 and passed on his first
attempt. He was only one of ten who passed the examination, out of a class of
forty students.
He took his first legal job as an assistant prosecutor in the Attorney
General's Office and later won several elections with record breaking
popularity. During the time that he was working days and studying nights, the
American economy was almost at a complete standstill. Millions of men and women
were out of work, and in Providence where there was more than one-third of the
labor force that had lost their jobs. In Rhode Island about 5,000 families were
listed on the welfare rolls and the average income for two-thirds of the city's
households was less than $1,500 yearly, and again, two-thirds of that group had
income of less than $1000 per year. Considering that two-thirds of the income
earned was spent on things other than food and shelter, this will give you some
idea of the hard time that existed while John Pastore was growing up. This was a
time when many white collar job holders had lost their jobs and became apple
vendors on street corners to create income or ready cash for their families.
These apples were furnished by the Department of Social Welfare, and four
apples daily were given to white color job holders who had lost their jobs and
these apples provided ready cash for those who qualified in order that they had
hard cash to buy food with. These men could be seen polishing up their apples
and setting up a favorite corner where men going to work would purchase and
apple for 5¢.
This was the time-period that was part of the N.R.A [National Recovery Act]
that was put into use by President Roosevelt, as there was little or no ready
cash available. President Roosevelt authorized the use of "script money" which
provided hard cash to buy food and other day to day necessities for families; it
prevented a run on bank deposits on people's money accounts; it prevented bank
closures which would have resulted in panic. This "script money" was issued in
denominations of one dollar each. Only one dollar could be withdrawn from bank
accounts daily.
A copy of the script money is printed here. This brief script money issuance is
to give you an idea of the hard times that prevailed during the Great Depression
in 1929. Few people had need for a lawyer during that period.
Pastore began his law practice in the parlor/reception room of his mother's
house, which was located at Pocassett Avenue. His two sisters started to help
him, Elena and Michelina, to do the secretarial and bookkeeping required for the
office. Common to the era, many times when new attorneys start their practice,
they would soon learn their clients had no money and the lawyers, as a service
to their friends and neighbors, would help them at no charge [pro bono] or for
very, very small fees. For such small fees, it became impractical to continue
with the office and John found that he had many free hours, as was common with
many other attorneys, doctors, and other professional men of those times. They
would end up discussing and debating social and political issues and policies in
the neighborhood clubs or newsstands. These became very lengthy and heated
debates, especially in the Providence Italian-American Club, where John became
president. They debated how they could improve themselves, their families and
community, which gave rise to many serious questions as to whether the voters
should vote as Republicans or Democrats to better themselves and for them to
make obtaining jobs easier. Until October 1, 1933 when 77,000 people marched
through the streets of Providence in support of the Roosevelt National Recovery
Act.
 The enthusiasm that Franklin Roosevelt created when he crossed party lines was
so apparent, that many could be heard saying that he looked like a president,
talked like a president, acted like a president, and gave hope to the people as
he came up with apparent solutions to help the people.
On the Sunday morning after the march had taken place, John waited outside the
St. Bartholomew's Church for Tom Testa, the "Italian-American boss" of
Silverlake's Democratic Party. He began a friendly discussion with Testa and
told him that he would like to go into politics. Tom was a soft drink
distributor with a limited education. He was very happy to hear that a young
Italian-American with a good education was thinking of running in the Democratic
Party.
Pastore, in September of 1934, declared his intentions to run for state
representative in the 11th district of Providence. It was a time when Irish,
Italians, and other ethnic communities began to unite to overcome their
differences and to become a voting power. It was a time in 1940, when the
Democratic Party, led by Dennis Roberts, who was elected Mayor of Providence,
and he remembered that it was the depression that brought the Democratic Party
into recognition. "People were starving [and] the needs of the people were not met, our
government was in total collapse…. We used script money, industry was in
bankruptcy, people were destitute and in soup lines. There was need for
leadership and Franklin D. Roosevelt provided it. With Roosevelt's
administration the Democratic Party came to Rhode Island, and I am hardly in
accord with the liberal and humanitarian principles brought into existence by
our president" Pastore wrote in a letter announcing his candidacy to the chair
woman of the 7th ward Democratic Party, Theresa Clarkin. "I have also profound respect and commendation for out own capable, efficient,
and honest Chief Executive Theodore Francis Green, our governor."
"John got into politics for some very sound reasons," said the senator's son. "It was a time when the minimum of $5 a day, for the maximum of sixty days in
any calendar year, that was allowed for the maximum annual pay for senator."
Pastore's mother was so proud and happy when John won, defeating James A. --,
with a vote of 2,230 votes to 1,213. John had won the Democratic nomination with
Testa's help - a political debt he would repay later from the governor's office
by naming Testa to the Racing Commission.
John discovered during the campaign that he really had political persuasion.
His oratorical skills were compared to those of William Jennings Bryan, the
original silver-tongued orator, who became popular in 1896 and captured his
party's nomination for the presidency at the age of thirty-six years-old.
The commingling of the various ethnic votes led to the ground floor of the "Bloodless Revolution". "John O. had the talent of being able to get on his feet - and if he said 'good
morning' to you, he said it in such a manner that it sounded like Heifetz was
playing a violin. He attracted you and had the talent and put it to good use."
- Robert Laurelli, March 27th, 1987
On the evening of election day, 1934, early election returns showed that the
twenty-seven year-old John O. Pastore had won his bid for a seat in the General
Assembly by an easy margin.
To be continued…
Bibliography:
Author's oral history with John O. Pastore;
Pride Without Prejudice, Ruth S. Morgenthau (Providence: Rhode Island Historical
Society, 1989);
Providence College photo collection;
The Italian-Americans of Rhode Island, vol. 1 (Images of America Series), Gran'
Uff' Joseph R. Muratore (Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 1997).
Gran' Uff' J.R. Muratore may be reached at: Muratorejosephr@gmail.com
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