October 14, 1985

Mary L. Balestra, a 33-year-old working mother of three who lives in Pelham, N.Y., is aware of Philip Morris Inc.'s recent agreement to buy the General Foods Corporation. She also knows that the nearly $5.8 billion deal is only the latest of many takeovers that have occurred in the food industry in recent years. Is she concerned that this acquisition binge may affect her choices at the supermarket and the prices she has to pay for food? ''Nope,'' said Mrs. Balestra. ''As a consumer, it's not going to affect me. If Philip Morris takes over General Foods and Jell-O goes up a nickel, I'll just buy Royal Pudding or a store brand. I don't care about the takeovers.

The Administration virtually gave up hope today of seizing a Palestinian guerrilla leader who fled to Yugoslavia from Rome as the United States sought to extradite him for planning the hijacking of an Italian cruise ship. Administration officials said they expected the Yugoslav Government to announce formally Monday that it would neither hold nor extradite the Palestinian, Mohammed Abbas. The United States was given that message informally today in Belgrade, Justice Department officials said. As officials awaited the formal Yugoslav response, the White House and State Department considered diplomatic moves against the Italian Government for not arresting the Palestinian. The White House called Mr. Abbas, who is known as Abul Abbas, ''one of the most notorious Palestinian terrorists,'' and said he ''has been involved in savage attacks on civilians.''

The first shock of the evening came two hours before game time tonight when the St. Louis Cardinals lost their base-stealing champion, Vince Coleman, in a bizarre accident: His left leg was trapped and bruised under a 1,200-pound tarpaulin cylinder before the fourth game of the National League playoff. But, having lost the leadoff man on their relay team, the rookie who stole 110 bases this season, the Cardinals went out and provided a shock of their own. They sent 14 men to bat in the second inning, scored a record total of nine runs on eight hits and two walks and overwhelmed the Los Angeles Dodgers, 12-2. As a result, the Cardinals won their second straight game and tied the playoff at two games apiece. They will shoot for the lead Monday afternoon, with Bob Forsch pitching against Fernando Valenzuela of the Dodgers, but Coleman will not return to the lineup until Game 6, when the series is resumed Wednesday in Los Angeles.

The nation's airline industry, which has struggled to adapt to deregulation for six years, has entered a new phase by turning to quick growth through acquisition. In the past several weeks, Piedmont Aviation Inc., a fast-growing carrier in the East, has forged an agreement to acquire Empire Airlines, a large regional carrier based in Syracuse. Last week, People Express Airlines, which has expanded at a torrid pace, worked out an agreement to acquire the Denver-based Frontier Airlines. If the deal goes through, it would catapult the upstart, low-fare airline from its position as the nation's 12th-largest carrier to the No. 5 spot. In addition, Elizabeth Hanford Dole, the Secretary of Transportation, decided in a preliminary ruling last week to allow United Airlines to acquire the Pacific routes of Pan American World Airways, although United may be required to give up its current gateway serving Seattle and Portland.

A year ago, Salvadoran leftist guerrillas and President Jose Napoleon Duarte met for the first time in the mountain village of La Palma and raised the hopes of their countrymen that peace might come after five years of civil war. Those hopes may have been impossibly high, but their loss today is palpable and has even reached into Mr. Duarte's home. The President, who walked unarmed into the heart of a war zone to meet the guerrillas, is now imploring them to release his kidnapped daughter. Conversations with dozens of Salvadorans from all classes of society give the strong impression that exhaustion is gaining hold in a country that has joined Northern Ireland and Lebanon as a land in which violence is normal. Resignation, cynicism and a simple hunger to survive have replaced the fragile faith that many placed in Mr. Duarte and the rebels' promise to try to stop fighting 12 months ago.