The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-12-18


 ican AirwayS.
 At least II theories on the origin of the ocean-hopping autographers of dollar bills have seen print, Van DuSen said, and they're all wrong. He offered no irrefutable theory himself, but told two and take your choice.
 Clyde Pangborn told Van Dusen the order began in 1925 when the Gates Flying Circus. playing in Syracuse, N. Y, extraordinarily took in more cash than it paid out for gasoline. A pilot performer volunteered to fly to nearby town for case of champagne for cele- bration. When he returned both he and the plane were well loaded"
 He rushed up to me and, in a belligerent tone of voice demanded to know whether or not was a short shorter" Pangborn said.
 Pangborn produced dollar bill, which the pilot signed with a flour iSh and handed back to him.
 Prom there on it just grew" Pangborn said.
 Van Dusen's second authority" E. w. Cleveland, claims the order began in 1928 at the Los Angeles air races. Bob Garland was happy to have a short snort with ny of the flyers ordering drinks, but when his turn came round he'd pull out thousand dollar bill which no bartender could change. To get this "unexpendable'' out of circu- lation, the boys started putting their signatures on it soon they were autographing the dollar bills they had left over after buying Garland's drinks, for one another.
 However 1t started, the order flourished among pilots until the depression came, Van Dusen said but by 1880 hundreds of the mem bership bills had found their ways into grocery stores. Old-timers doubt that a dozen members re- mained in good standing by 1892.
 The arrival of Wiley R. Wright (now It. Col, USAAFD in Alaska in 1880 gave new life to the old order. Wright went to the cleaners at the hands of the territory's tall tale tellers until he discovered he could clean up for himself by way of the short shorter initiation. Ole Sourdoughs still refer to Wright's haul as the second Alaskan gold rush, Van Dllsen said, and Wright can still display his original bill, which bearers signatures of nearly all the Artic's pioneer aviators. Will Rogers was the first non- pilot member. He paid out $23 to attending members when he was inducted "by exclamation" during his and Wiley Posts ill-fated trip.
 When Pan American lured some of the old Alaskan pilots to the States to learn new fangled' methods of flying, Van Dusen said, trey opened shop in Miami, niti- ating pilots from the Latin-Ameri- can routes. Soon loop-hole was discovered in the bylaws, formally drawn up in Alaska. They said flyer" not pilot. and in a short time anyone who'd ever set foot ill a plane was eligible.
 When the airline pioneered its route to the Orient, pilots found the order flourishing in China, where 1t has been introduced by Russian and Japanese pilots initi- ated in Alaska. It soon was carried to all Asiatic and East Indian air. line stopping points.
 Then came the war" said Van Dusen, and "some impecunious pilot, probably started taking money off women and children and diplomats" who took sleeping pills to lull their nerves in exchange for the membership distinction. The short snortes became 100000 overnight, and Van Dusen said North African veterans claim the campaign would have been over week sooner if generals hadn't wasted so much time collecting and signing dollar bills.
 Limited by tacit consent today to aerial ocean hoppers, the organ ization's mem5ers include heads of state, multi-starred and multi striped military men, and thou sands of Army and Navy aviators. The Alaskan bylaws insist they must be good guys" all.