VOL. XXXIV, No. 1 WASHINGTON 



July, 1918 



THE 



ATONAL 



" F§APH3G 

 AGAZE 



NEW YORK-THE METROPOLIS OF MANKIND 



By William Joseph Showalter 



Author of "The Panama Canal," "How the; World is Fed," "Steel — the Nation's 



Greatest Asset/' etc. 



This is the first of a series of articles concerning the principal cities of the 

 United States which will appear from time to time in the National Geographic 

 Magazine. In word and picture these articles zvill tell the story of what these 

 cities are today, what problems they are facing, zvhat futures they are planning, 

 and zvhat roles they are playing in the nation's activities. 



WITH German submarines creep- 

 ing up to the very portals of its 

 busy harbor, with precautions 

 being taken lest on some unguarded, 

 moonless night an enemy hydro-airplane, 

 laden with bombs of destruction, descend 

 upon it out of the sky, the eyes of the 

 whole world are focused upon New York. 

 A city which the great war has made the 

 earth's international trade center and civ- 

 ilization's crowning metropolis, Gotham 

 now commands a new interest, arouses a 

 new pride in its achievements, excites a 

 new feeling of wonder, and stirs in every 

 American breast a realization that it is a 

 city of all the people, national in all its 

 aspects and relations. 



Conspicuous above every other phase 

 of its greatness, of course, is its role as 

 an international trade center. Last year 

 exports passing out of its harbor had a 

 greater value than the combined exports 

 of Asia, Africa, and Australia. The im- 

 ports coming through its customs lines 

 exceeded in value those of the continents 

 of South America, Africa, and Australia 

 together. 



For such operations as these, New 

 York, perforce, must be a great metrop- 



olis. In population it outranks any one 

 of half the nations of the earth, surpasses 

 that of the entire continent of Australia, 

 and matches the combined strength of the 

 six westernmost States of the American 

 Union. In annual expenditures it ex- 

 ceeds all except seven of the fifty-odd 

 nations on the map. Its water system 

 could supply the whole earth with drink- 

 ing water, and its storage reservoirs hold 

 enough to slake civilization's thirst for 

 more than a year. Its electric transpor- 

 tation lines carry nearly twice as many 

 passengers in twelve months as all the 

 steam railroads of the United States. 

 They could give every man, woman, and 

 child living a ride every ten months — so 

 much for the yardstick of comparison. 



THE MAJESTY OF THE CITy's SMALL 

 THINGS 



New York is of all cities the one where 

 the majesty of small things is regarded 

 as well as the greatness of large ones. 



Who counts a nickel ? Yet the greatest 

 transportation system of the ages was 

 built by nickels prospective, and lives on 

 nickels realized. Who reckons a dime, 



