Most Americans have not been taught about the social-welfare program that
gave FDR his vision for the New Deal. That program was called the "Square
Deal". Why have they not been taught about the Square Deal? Simple: the
Square Deal was created by a capitalist, and it was wildly successful.
Having a successful social-welfare program for working-class people, funded
by the profits of the company that employs those workers, flies in the face
of the Leftist agenda that is shared by Democrat politicians and their
"mainstream" media hacks.

The "Square Deal" was created in Broome County, NY, by industrialist George
F. Johnson. (Some speculate that Johnson was inspired by the "Square Deal"
remarks of Teddy Roosevelt. This writer found no quotes to support that
point; but, it is plausible.) Johnson's Square Deal was so successful that
the town where it was created, Lestershire, was renamed Johnson City. To
this day, the villages of Endicott and Johnson City are marked by the
"Square Deal arches", which commemorate the legacy of Johnson and his
company: Endicott-Johnson Shoes (EJ). Thousands of immigrants - mostly from
Slavic countries - came to America knowing only one English phrase: "Which
way EJ?" (My grandmother was among those immigrants; and, three generations
of my family worked in EJ factories at one time or another.)

What made the Square Deal so popular? Among other things, the eight-hour
work day. That, along with the five-day work week, was among the
foundational pillars of the Square Deal. "Mainstream" media outlets, which
favor Democrats and labor unions, sometimes credit Henry Ford with the
creation of the eight-hour workday. But, not even the official Ford
corporate history Web page makes that claim. And, according to most writers,
Ford introduced his eight-hour day in 1914. By contrast, Johnson had
introduced the eight-hour day in his factories more than twenty years
sooner. (The Square Deal Arches were dedicated in 1920. They were a monument
to a group of social programs that had already existed for an entire
generation of EJ workers. That generation wanted to ensure that the memory
of the Square Deal would survive.) Johnson's Square Deal was also good
business: happy workers are more productive.

Shorter work periods were not the only features of the Square Deal. Johnson
also addressed many "quality of life" issues. Endicott-Johnson, Inc., built
hospitals, which were also available to the larger community. The company
also built houses, and sold them to EJ workers at cost. Then, the company
deducted the payments from workers' paychecks - thus making it one of the
first direct-payment mortgage programs in America - long before the computer
industry (which was also born in Broome County, NY). Johnson also had a
wide-ranging program of community philanthropy. It included building parks,
swimming pools, the first corporate golf course, and his famous group of
carousels. (When he was a boy, Johnson had been so poor that he could not
afford to ride a carousel. So, when he became wealthy, he donated them to
the county - with the standing rule that they would always be
free-of-charge.) George F. Johnson used his wealth from the shoe industry to
improve life for his workers; and, he "spread the wealth" to the communities
where his workers lived. Johnson was a pioneer of what became known as
"welfare capitalism". (In the modern parlance, we call it "compassionate
conservatism" - as though compassion was an anomaly. But, true conservatism
is always compassionate, because its goal is to "conserve" peace and
well-being for everyone.) Prior to the Square Deal, the normal work day in
America had been ten hours (this was the standard for Federal workers in
1840); and, some jobs worked from sunrise to sunset. (Some jobs still do.)
But, the political Left sees two big problems with welfare capitalism: 1) it's
capitalist; and, 2) it works.

The Square Deal infuriated President Roosevelt, because it flew in the face
of the Socialism that he embraced so thoroughly. Local researcher and writer
Tom Cawley, in his "Postcard History of Broome County", had a picture of FDR
(who was Governor of New York at that time) riding in a car with George F.
Johnson. The relationship between the two men was strained, because Johnson
had successfully created a system that actually did in fact what Socialism
could only purport to do on paper. Further, records at the time indicated
that the crowd at the parade was cheering Johnson, not Roosevelt. In his
"revenge", FDR came up with a government-funded New Deal that mocked
privately-funded Johnson's Square Deal. (Interestingly, in so doing, FDR
also mocked his conservative cousin: President Theodore Roosevelt. There
goes the concept that "dementia liberalis" is genetic!)