He replied that they neither sweated nor undersold.  The men whom they picked up had no value in the labour market, and could get nothing to do because no one would employ them, many of them being the victims of drink or entirely unskilled.  Such people they overlooked, housed, fed, and instructed, whether they did or did not earn their food and lodging, and after the first week paid them upon a rising scale.  The results were eminently satisfactory, as even allowing for the drunkards they found that but few cases, not more than 10 per cent, were hopeless.  Did they not rescue these men most of them would sink utterly; indeed, according to their own testimony many of such wastrels were snatched from suicide.  As a matter of fact, also, they employed more men per ton of paper than any other dealers in the trade.

With reference to the commercial results, after allowing for interest on the capital invested, the place did not pay its way.  He said that a sum of L15,000 was urgently required for the erection of a new building on this site, some of those that exist being of a rough-and-ready character.  They were trying to raise subscriptions towards this object, but found the response very slow.

He added that they collected their raw material from warehouses, most of it being given to them, but some they bought, as it was necessary to keep the works supplied, which could not be done with the gratis stuff alone.  Also they found that the paper they purchased was the most profitable.

These works presented a busy spectacle of useful industry.  There was the sorting-room, where great masses of waste-paper of every kind was being picked over by about 100 men and separated into its various classes.  The resulting heaps are thrown through hoppers into bins.  From the bins this sorted stuff passes into hydraulic presses which crush it into bales that, after being wired, are ready for sale.

It occurred to me that the dealing with this mass of refuse paper must be an unhealthy occupation; but I was informed that this is not the case, and certainly the appearance of the workers bore out the statement.

After completing a tour of the works I visited one of the bedrooms containing seventy beds, where everything seemed very tidy and fresh.  Clean sheets are provided every week, as are baths for the inmates.  In the kitchen were great cooking boilers, ovens, etc., all of which are worked by steam produced by the burning of the refuse of the sorted paper.  Then I saw the household salvage store, which contained enormous quantities of old clothes and boots; also a great collection of furniture, including a Turkish bath cabinet, all of which articles had been given to the Army by charitable folk.  These are either given away or sold to the employes of the factory or to the poor of the neighbourhood at a very cheap rate.