on't remember his
telling me anything about Aguinaldo more than that cablegram there,
and I said he might come. And you see how much importance I attached
to him; I did not wait for him.

"_Senator Patterson_. What you said was: 'Tell Aguinaldo to come as
soon as possible.'

"_Admiral Dewey_. Yes; but I did not wait a moment for him.

"_Senator Patterson_. Yes; but there was a reason for that.

"_Admiral Dewey_. I think more to get rid of him than anything else.

"_Senator Carmack_. Rid of whom?

"_Admiral Dewey_. Of Aguinaldo and the Filipinos. They were bothering
me. I was very busy getting my squadron ready for battle, and these
little men were coming on board my ship at Hongkong and taking a good
deal of my time, and I did not attach the slightest importance to
anything they could do, and they did nothing; that is, none of them
went with me when I went to Mirs Bay. There had been a good deal of
talk, but when the time came they did not go. One of them didn't go
because he didn't have any toothbrush.

"_Senator Burrows_. Did he give that as a reason?

"_Admiral Dewey_. Yes; he said, 'I have no toothbrush.'" [100]

However, Dewey ultimately yielded to the pressure exercised on him by
Pratt and Wildman, and allowed Aguinaldo and some of his associates to
be brought to Manila. Having them there he proposed to get assistance
from them, not as allies, but as a friendly force attacking a common
enemy, in its own way.

Let us continue with his testimony as to cooperation between Aguinaldo
and the naval forces of the United States:--

"_Senator Patterson_. Then, Admiral, until you knew that they were
going to send land forces to your assistance you thought there was
a necessity to organize the Filipinos into land forces, did you?

"_Admiral Dewey_. No; not a necessity.

"_Senator Patterson_. You thought it might prove of value to you?

"_Admiral Dewey_. I testified here, I think, in a way that answers
that. I said to Aguinaldo, 'There is our enemy; now, you go your way
and I will go mine; we had better act independently.' That was the
wisest thing I ever said.

"_Senator Patterson_. But you stated that you were using these people
and they were permitted to organize, that you might use them.

"_Admiral Dewey_. They were assisting us.

"_Senator Patterson_. Very well, they were to assist you. Did you
not either permit them or encourage them--I do not care which term
you use--to organize into an army, such