If the wind were favorable on their regular trips, the high grade express ærodromes [Some Fast Traveling.] in 1999, belonging to the popular Sky-Scraper line, could easily make the trip from Manhattan (formerly New York) to Washington, in the State of Mexico, a distance of 1,949 miles in a direct air-line, in fifteen hours, making brief stops for meals at Columbia, D. C., (formerly called Washington) and at New Orleans. From the Crescent City it was only a short run across the deep, blue gulf, to Vera Cruz, then followed a short spurt of two hundred miles west of Vera Cruz to the national capital, Washington, then built upon the site of the ancient Aztec City of Mexico. In 1999 this was regarded as a neat, breezy little trip. The name of New York city (always a meaningless and unpopular one), had been [The Great City of Manhattan.] changed in 1912 to the more appropriate one of Manhattan. Its population in 1999 had increased to 25,000,000 souls. Although the largest metropolis of the world, Manhattan in 1999 had reached its zenith. The consolidation of the republics into one vast American Union, from Alaska to Patagonia, and the removal of Washington as the seat of our national government, from the little District of Columbia to a more central and appropriate location in the State of Mexico, as well as the opening of the Nicaragua Canal, were the leading factors that contributed to the commercial detriment and undoing of Manhattan. The star of destiny shone brightly over Mexico as the conspicuous centre of the new and great American Republic and the volume of the world's trade passed through the Nicaragua Canal, diverting millions of freightage that otherwise must have entered the port of Manhattan. The great air-ship or ærodrome building centre in 1999 was the city of Manhattan. Upon the Palisades, opposite Grant's tomb and about one mile east of the lofty Dewey monument, were stationed vast workshops for building these beautiful and graceful ærodromes. It was ever a fascinating sight to the men and women of 1999 to see one of these flying machines starting out of the shops on its trial trip. The body of the ærodrome was resplendent in brilliant colors and the new airships always appeared in the bravery of bunting and silk flags. By act of Congress all ærial navigation companies were obliged to adopt a certain color and number. The big express lines running from Manhattan to Rio Janeiro and Mexico, each adopted a prismatic color along with their official number. The object of this was to enable people to distinguish at sight an approaching ærodrome and at once recognize by its color the ærial line to which it belonged.