“Senator Patterson.  The negroes were expecting their freedom—­

“Admiral Dewey.  The Filipinos were slaves, too.

“Senator Patterson.  What were the Filipinos expecting?

“Admiral Dewey.  They wanted to get rid of the Spaniards; I do not think they looked much beyond that.  I cannot recall but I have in mind that the one thing they had in their minds was to get rid of the Spaniards and then to accept us, and that would have occurred—­I have thought that many times—­if we had had troops to occupy Manila on the 1st day of May before the insurrection got started; these people would have accepted us as their friends, and they would have been our loyal friends—­I don’t know for how long, but they would have been our friends then.

“Senator Patterson.  You learned from Pratt, or Wildman, or Williams, very early, did you not, that the Filipinos wanted their own country and to rule their own country; that that is what they were expecting?

“Admiral Dewey.  I heard from Williams that there was an insurrection there against the Spaniards.  The Spaniards were very cruel to them, and I think they did not look much beyond getting rid of them.  There was one, Dr. Rizal, who had the idea of independence, but I don’t think that Aguinaldo had much idea of it.

“Senator Carmack.  Then what useful purpose did the Filipino army serve; why did you want the Filipino army at all?

“Admiral Dewey.  I did not want them.

“Senator Carmack.  Did you not want the Filipino forces?

“Admiral Dewey.  No, not really.  It was their own idea coming over there.  We could have taken the city at any moment we had the troops to occupy it.”

Admiral Dewey has made the following statements relative to the importance of Aguinaldo’s military operations:—­

“Then he began operations toward Manila, and he did wonderfully well.  He whipped the Spaniards battle after battle, and finally put one of those old smoothbore guns on a barge, and he wanted to take this up—­wanted me to tow it up so he could attack the city with it.  I said, ‘Oh, no, no; we can do nothing until our troops come.’  I knew he could not take the city without the assistance of the navy, without my assistance, and I knew that what he was doing—­driving the Spaniards in—­was saving our own troops, because our own men perhaps would have had to do that same thing.  He and I were always on the most friendly terms; we had never had any differences.  He considered me as his liberator, as his friend.  I think he had the highest admiration for us because we had whipped the Spaniards who had been riding them down for three hundred years.

* * * * *

“Senator Patterson (continuing).  You sent this short dispatch to the Secretary of the Navy:—­

“’Aguinaldo, the revolutionary leader, visited the Olympia yesterday.  He expects to make general attack on May 31.  Doubt his ability to succeed.  Situation remains unchanged.’