UNDERWOOD-E.

USS Juniata:

American Samoa:

The third commandant, Commander E.B. Underwood, entertained another German diplomat in the summer of 1903 when the German consul-general to Australia, Mr. von Buri, and his wife stopped by en route from German Samoa to Australia. Now that Government House was completed, Underwood entertained his guests royally on their overnight visit. He had dinner guests again in November when the French warship Meurthe arrived for a fiveday visit. Then, in April 1904, Imperial Governor Solf paid Underwood an official visit. The station received him with a thirteen-gun salute. Following dinner at Government House, the governor enjoyed a concert performed by the band from Wheeling. The next foreign visitor was the Duke of Abruzzi, commanding the Italian cruiser Liguria. NPS F«xm United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet Section number 8 Page 2 Before he left Tutuila, Underwood too recommended that the title of commandant be changed to that of governor. This would put him on a par with the governors of the various colonies in the Pacific. Also, it was important in the eyes of the Samoans who were intensely aware of rank and privilege. They noted, for example, that Governor Solf received more rounds from the salute guns than Underwood did when he first came to Samoa. Early in 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt signed a commission appointing the commandant as the governor. From then on, the commanding naval officer was commandant of the naval station proper and governor of the Samoans.