From the day
Perspective: The Future Historian · Sight
I lean against the brickwork, watching the sharp silhouettes of men in boater hats flicker under the gas lamps as they discuss how $17,462,000 added to Carnegie gifts for education; corporation announces donations to Institute of Pittsburgh and School of Technology. Must raise $4,200,000—the two institutes had already received nearly $30,000,000 from Mr. Carnegie. $1,000,000 dormitory gift J.D. Rockefeller Jr. said to be donor of building for foreign students here—is cementing an empire of intellect that will outlast these iron streets. The industrial grime of 1921 can’t dim the neon glow beginning to bleed into the evening air, illuminating the faces of young dreamers who have a crush on the future. I see the seeds of a technocracy in their eyes, a rigid order being bought and paid for by the titans of the Gilded Age.