November 4, 1964

Hundred-Year Predictions

We ask the indulgence of our readers this week while we address ourselves to readers a hundred years or so hence.

A copy of this column, along with other mementos, is to be deposited in the cornerstone of the new Milton United Presbyterian Church next Sunday.

We are grateful to the Rev. James Watt for advance notice of this honor, even though it puts us under somewhat of a handicap. If there is anything that puts the “whammy” on a writer, it is the knowledge that his words are to be preserved for posterity.

At first, we considered recording the great truths and accomplishments of our era for curious readers in the Year 2064. The longer we studied the matter, however, the less sure we were of what they are. It is, perhaps, presumptuous of living men to assess their place in history.

Therefore, we have decided to amuse those who will piece together the moldy fragments of this column with a little parlor game of philosopher's-prophecy.

* * *

Here is what we see in the crystal ball for the next century:

RELIGION - The great schism of the Christian churches will be largely repaired, but not completely. Ninety percent of the followers of Jesus will reunite into one congregation, but a few Protestant denominations will seek salvation with unorthodox creeds. The oriental religions of Mohammadism, Hinduism and Buddhism will decline under the challenge of a new “messiah” preaching “cosmic” morality.

WAR - A third and final “world war” will be fought in Asia with the United States and Russia arrayed against China. Nuclear weapons will be used only on tactical and “propaganda” targets. Even so, the loss of life will surpass any previous conflict. The U.S. and its allies will win.

ECONOMICS - Under the impact of the costliest war in history, all nations will be bankrupted, led by the downfall of U.S. currency. National credit commitments will be repudiated. The world will start over with international money based on gross national production.

WORLD GOVERNMENT - The United Nations will ebb in effectiveness until the start of World War III. The victorious allies will reorganize the U.N. to add a world police force to a strengthened world court and World Bank. Individual nations still will retain sovereignty, but many of the small nations will be welded into larger countries better able to compete economically in world markets. The United States and Canada will merge. Brazil will be a world power. Europe will be a commonwealth entity with its capital in Switzerland.

POLITICS - In the U.S., constitutional republicanism will disappear, as will communism in Russia and dictatorships in the so-called “emergent” nations. The principal form of government in the world will be a combination of democracy and socialism best described as “benevolent statism.” There will be three political parties in the United States. The Republican Party will change its name but still will advocate individual liberty and sound money. The Democrat party will retain its name but become the lesser of the three major parties. The dominant party will be a new one dedicated to the interests of large cities.

MEDICINE - Aided by a “cradle-to-grave” federal program of medical care administered by nationalized doctors, Americans will be the healthiest in history. The average life span will be 110 years. A spectacular cure for cancer will be discovered which will relegate this disease to an historical oddity. The big killer will be heart, artery and nerve disorders. The transplanting of hearts and kidneys will be accomplished with frequent success. A vaccine will be developed for the common cold, but more serious virus diseases will be prevalent.

SPACE SCIENCE - Small colonies of scientists and miners will inhabit the Moon and Mars. Instrument capsules will make regular inspections of Venus. Deep probes will be launched toward the next nearest star, but the existence of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe will be unconfirmed. Space ships will be powered by “magnetic interceptors” that draw energy from the same source as the planets.

TRANSPORTATION - The four-wheeled automobile still will be the principal means of personal transportation. However, the vehicles will be powered by electricity generated in chemical fuel cells. Interstate highways will have a speed limit of 100 miles per hour, but cars will be controlled magnetically by cables buried in the road. Tires will be of solid, synthetic foam, will never go flat and last the average 10-year life of the car. The airliner of today will be used only for trans-oceanic and trans-continental travel. The comfort of passengers in take-off and landing will require that the plane be equipped with airfoils and air-combustion engines. In the upper atmosphere, wings will retract and thrust will be provided by rocket engines. Interstate public travel will be by 300 mile-per-hour trains riding on a cushion of air over elevated monorails.

COMMUNICATIONS - Television screens will be less than an inch thick and have no limit as to size. Color will be standard, and sets that give an illusion of depth will be available. Most telephones will be equipped with a television screen. The broadcast and newspaper businesses will be closely supervised by the government, but free speech still will be permitted. Chains of stations and papers will be prohibited.

POWER - Electricity for homes will be furnished by nuclear engines the size of a large suitcase. Power units will be delivered and hooked up by government employees as electricity will be a national monopoly. Power for centralized industrial area will come from underground magnetic generators whose energy is beamed over long distances by “laser” light beams.

BUSINESS - Industrial and mercantile business will be conducted by large, stockholder-owned establishments. The independent proprietor in these areas of commerce will become a relic of inefficiency. Private enterprise will survive in the field of services, recreation and small farms. Worker unions will become social clubs as the government moves increasingly into the control of wages and prices. The workweek will be 32 hours, but the average retirement age will be 70 years, and vacations will be one month each, twice a year.

AGRICULTURE - Wheat, corn, cattle and hogs will be nationalized, along with irrigation, water and fertilizer. The small farm, now in decline, will increase in number as the opportunity for independent business lessens in commerce. A nutritious and palatable food will be manufactured in large quantities from the sea.

EDUCATION - Man will overcome the forces tending to destroy his individuality through the increased knowledge of human nature, which comes from training in history, science and the arts. The ability to read, write and cipher will be universal. The official language of the world will be English, but the alphabet will be increased to 42 letters and all verbs “regularized.” All weights and measurements will use the metric system. The calendar will be revised to provide 13 months of 28 days each-with one extra day each year set aside as a World Peace Holiday.

* * *

From this necessarily abbreviated list, it becomes apparent that the mood of this prognosticator is a combination of pessimism and optimism-with more emphasis on the latter.

To make these predictions, we took into consideration the present state of science and human nature. What will throw all our conclusions into a cocked hat is the wonderful disposition of people to do the illogical thing from time to time just “for the heck of it.”

And we wouldn’t have it any other way.

By Lindsey Wilger Williams, retired newspaper publisher and syndicated columnist