Page:The food of the Gods - A Popular Account of Cocoa.djvu/121

the daylight, or equally well lighted by electricity at night, humming with busy machines; some peopled with girls—among whom only men wearing a certain badge on their arms are allowed—some with men and boys, but all vibrating with a genial air of content as well as of busy occupation. Suffice it to say that half the handicrafts of the town seem represented in this centre of industry, in every department of which order and cheerfulness reign supreme. Each would require a chapter to do it justice, for everything employed in packing seems to be made on the premises, and that, too, on a system of piece-work paid for, not at the lowest possible price, but on the basis of securing a satisfactory living wage to the average worker. No wonder the faces around are bright, no wonder that openings at the Bournville factory are in demand, and that long service for the firm is the boast of so many of the employees. Among these, a little band of about thirty still upholds the traditions of the old firm that laid the foundations of the present company in the city of Birmingham.