Through the Looking Phone?

For the dedication of its new Minneapolis building last week, the Prudential Insurance Co. got from 14 outstanding Midwest leaders forecasts for the future --20 years hence. All were bullish and some ebullient about the astonishing prospects for the U.S. in 1975. Some of the prophets:

P: Chrysler Corp. President Lester Colbert: automobiles on superhighways may be driven by electronic "automatic pilots," with human guidance required only at exits and entrances.

P: Northwestern Bell Telephone President A. F. Jacobson: people will be able to look at each other while phoning--through combined television and telephone service.

P: Northern Pacific Railway President Robert Macfarlane: atom-powered locomotives could be rolling. "Virtually all accounting and many details of train operation will be electronically performed."

P: Bendix Aviation President Malcolm Ferguson: an unmanned earth satellite 200 miles out in space will be circling the globe at more than 2,000 m.p.h. Atom-powered planes will fly around the world. Portable two-way personal radios will be common, transmitting "in many cases picture as well as voice."

P: Dow Chemical President Leland Doan: business will create a virtual revolution in the social system by "taking an increased responsibility for the health, education, security, estate planning [insurance benefits] and general welfare of its employees."

P: The Mayo Foundation's Dr. Charles Mayo: "A way of avoiding many forms of the common cold may be found."

P: General Mills Chairman Harry Bullis: the U.S. will have 220 million people, with plenty of jobs, a shorter work week --perhaps 35 hours--and average family income topping $10,000 yearly (nearly double current income). Food supplies will be reasonable and ample. Foods now canned or frozen will be preserved by harmless nuclear radiation, and home electronic ovens will cook meals in minutes instead of hours, but "men and women will still struggle for happiness, which will continue to lie within themselves."

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