The oracle of the 20th Century
by Simon Jones

David Goodman Croly is not one of the first names that springs to mind when talking about famous visionaries. With many notable predictions to his name that predict major events of the 20th Century, it's difficult to understand why

Irish born and American bred; Croly first made his living as a distinguished journalist working for the New York Evening Post and then the Herald. In the 1870s he began writing for the Real Estate Record and Builder's Guide, where he got the tag of 'The Oracle' as a prophet of financial matters. After writing numerous articles on business and politics, he produced 'Glimpses of the Future' in 1888, a series of predictions which were intended to be 'read now and judged in the year 2000'. Here are some of his predictions that have come true:

WW1 A war will break out which will involve all the leading nations of the Earth. It will be instigated by Germany.

DESK TOP PUBLISHING Printing will be revolutionised. The compositor or typesetter will be replaced by a process through which texts and illustrations will be photographed and reproduced.

MOTION PICTURES Novels will be transformed into a new kind of entertainment. Instead of employing real actors, as in a play, voices and visual images will be projected onto a stage, creating the illusion of reality.

MASS ART Techniques to reproduce the great masters will be perfected so that most people will be able to afford their own gallery of fine art.

AIR TRAVEL Navigation of the air will be the most momentous event in history. It will do away with all unchartered regions on the Earth and it will enable people to be highly mobile, spending summers in one place and winters in another.

NEW FORMS OF ENERGY Steam energy will be replaced by electricity and/or other power sources.

WOMENS LIB Women throughout the world will enjoy increased opportunities and privileges. Along with this new freedom will come social tolerance of sexual conduct formerly condoned only in men. In addition, because of the greater availability of jobs, more women will choose not to have children.

MARRIAGE Marriage will no longer be considered a religious rite. It will be a civil contract which will allow a change of partners whenever the contracting couple mutually agrees to separate.

FLEXI-HOURS People will work no more than six hours at a time, and this will be in staggered shifts. A whole range of goods and services will be available during the night-time hours.

Predictions that have yet to come true

EUGENICS Legal measures will be instituted to prevent the criminal, the insane, and the diseased from bearing children.

U.S. EXPANSION The U.S. will absorb Canada, Mexico, Central America and the West Indies.

ART - THE NEW RELIGION Because Christianity and the other major religions are not compatible with scientific knowledge, man will satisfy his emotional/cravings with art.

CENSORSHIP A body of censors will be created who will be responsible for policing the U.S legislature at all levels.

DOME LIVING People will live beneath domes which will provide temperature-controlled environments and will filter harmful substances out of the air.

PRINTED DESIGN Printing will be done in the colours of nature—blues, greens, browns etc. Permanent literature will be printed in the most easily perceived colour combinations—yellow ink on a dark blue background.

CONSERVATION POLICY The federal government will reforest all waste areas and the headwaters of all major rivers. Anyone who cuts down a tree will be legally responsible for planting another one in its place. We will also have a national policy for flood and pest control and for irrigation.

BIO BREAKTHROUGH Soil will be stimulated into maximum productivity, and the entire range of plants formerly considered weeds will be utilised for food or for clothing. These breakthroughs will enable the Earth to support comfortably 50 billion people.