A direct or “bee” line.
1840. As gentlemen seemed to suppose it proper that we should travel by an air line to and from Washington City, it might be proper to see if we could not subsist on air while we resided here.—Mr. Clay of Alabama, U.S. Senate, June 12: Congressional Globe, p. 459.
1847. A snake, clutched by an eagle, is one of the emblems of the armorial bearings of Mexico. If this plan of fighting to an air line is adopted, the proud bird will soon be powerless.—Mr. Cass of Michigan in the U.S. Senate, Feb. 10: id., p. 369.
1853. This “air line” runs its whole length through a country eminently adapted for the construction of a railroad.—Mr. Borland of Arkansas, U.S. Senate, Feb. 18: id., p. 674.
