PRIZE FOR AVIATORS

Evening Star, Issue 19616, 23 July 1927, Page 9

PRIZE FOR AVIATORS

DONOR AND HIS OFFER RIVAL CLAIMANTS APPEAR. LOS ANGELES, July W, Mr Willßogcrs, a well-known wrltir, in a carc-frco moment, recently ■ offered £IOO as a prize to aviators for the first non-stop flight from his birthplace, Claremore, 'Oklahoma, to Beverley Hills, where he is mayor At daylight to-day Mr Rogers was awakened by tho arrival of an “airflivver ” in his front yard, with Mr and Mrs John Collins, who claimed the reward. An hour later two youths from Claremoro roared into the grounds, also demanding the money. Mr Rogers, who was ill, sent his best wishes from his sick bed and referred the rival claimants to his lawyers. A month ago prizes totalling more than £20,000 wero being offered for longdistance flights over land and sea, and aviators may choose from at least five events of the kind during tho next few months A sum of £7,000 was offered by Mr James Dole, of Honolulu, for a nonstop flight from tho Pacific coast to William Iv. Eastenvood, Dallas, Texas, for the first flight from Dallas to Hongkong, 1-0,000 miles; £0,600 was offered by the business men of Spokane, Washington, for a series of races between New York and Spokane; £6,000 was offered by Mr Sid Granman, Hollywood, for the first to fly from Los Angeles to Tokio, 5,000 miles; and £7OO was offered by Spokane interests for a race from San Francisco to Spokane.