William John Maxwell William John Maxwell was a United States Navy officer who served as the 18th Naval Governor of Guam . He entered the United States Naval Academy in 1874 , but was not commissioned as an ensign until 1883 . He served aboard many ships before becoming one of the inaugural members of the General Board of the United States Navy . Afterward , he commanded both the USS " Mississippi " and the USS " Florida " . After becoming governor in 1914 , Maxwell instituted a number of reforms , including establishing the Bank of Guam and the Guam Insular Patrol Force . He also reorganized the tax system and stressed the building and improvement of new roads . His plans to give Guamanians United States citizenship was rejected by then - Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin Delano Roosevelt . Guam became the center an international relations incident when the German SMS " Cormoran " made port there asking for coal at a time when the United States remained neutral in World War I . Maxwell refused to break neutrality by providing fuel and supplies , forcing the ship to stay in port for the next two years . Maxwell attracted controversy during his term , particularly when he approved the first execution on the island since the US takeover . Eventually , a lower - ranking officer , William P . Cronan , placed Maxwell on the sick list , despite his protest , and removed him from power , taking the office himself . The Navy launched an inquiry into the appropriateness and motives of the dismissal , but nonetheless , Maxwell , declared perfectly healthy by mainland doctors , was reassigned to the Naval War College . Naval career . Maxwell was appointed to the United States Naval Academy on June 8 , 1874 . On March 3 , 1883 , he was commissioned as an ensign junior grade , and an ensign on June 26 , 1884 . He served aboard the training ship USS " Jamestown " from 1883 to 1885 . On July 4 , 1893 , he was promoted to Lieutenant ( junior grade ) . From July 1890 to March 1891 , he served aboard the USS " Dolphin " , before becoming the Assistant to the Inspector of the 5th Lighthouse District in July 1892 . In 1900 , Maxwell began his assignment aboard the USS " Isla de Cuba " . In 1910 as a commander , he served as one of the first members of the General Board of the United States Navy . On November 12 , 1911 , he left Hampton Roads , Virginia commanding the USS " Mississippi " , after being placed in command two days before . He continued in this position until 1912 . In 1913 , he commanded the USS " Florida " . Governorship . Maxwell served as Naval Governor of Guam from March 28 , 1914 to April 29 , 1916 . During his term , a typhoon hit in the summer of 1914 , leaving a shortage of rice and corn crops . As governor , he established a number of government organizations , some still in existence . These organizations include the Guam Insular Patrol Force , the civilian predecessor to the Guam Police Department , as well as the Bank of Guam . He reorganized the taxation system by raising property assessments and stressed road building . The bank opened in January 1916 and helped many islanders obtain loans to open small businesses . He also served as the first chairman of the Guamanian chapter of the American Red Cross and organized its first fundraising drive . In 1914 , Maxwell proposed granting United States citizenship to the people of Guam . However , Franklin Delano Roosevelt , then Assistant Secretary of the Navy , rejected the plan , claiming that making Guamanians citizens was not in the best interest of the country . He also asked that Guam be made an open port of trade to all ships , believing this would reduce the local ' s dependence on government assistance for food . In December 1914 , Maxwell found himself at the center of a diplomatic incident when the German Empire ship SMS " Cormoran " stopped in Guam to resupply on coal . Maxwell , under orders to maintain American neutrality in the recently - begun World War I , refused the ship supplies , instead forcing it to voluntarily inter itself at the island for the next two years . Near the end of his term , Maxwell began coming into conflict with the islanders . He attracted some controversy when he outlawed public whistling , hoping to curtail mischievous local boys from whistling an incorrect cadence as sailors marched . He attracted larger anger when he ordered the first execution on the island since the United States had assumed control of it ; despite numerous pleas to commute the sentence to life imprisonment , the man , Filipino Pablo Corpus , was executed for murder on February 4 , 1916 by hanging . On April 29 , 1916 , William P . Cronan relieved Maxwell after involuntarily placing him on the sick list . However , upon transportation to the mainland United States , he was found to be perfectly healthy and reassigned to the Naval War College . The Navy launched an inquiry , led by Captain William R . Shoemaker , into the events surrounding Maxwell ' s dismissal and placement on the list by an officer of a lower rank . It was alleged that Cronan , then aide to the governor , disagreed with several of Maxwell ' s policies and used improper and unprofessional methods to oust him and take the position for himself . Legacy . The Maxwell School , named after the governor , was built in Santa Rita , Guam in the early 1930s , but does not exist today .