"_Senator Patterson_. And you doubted his ability to succeed?

"_Admiral Dewey_. And he wanted me to assist him. He wanted me to tow
one of his guns up into position. I knew he could not take the city;
of course he could not.

"_Senator Patterson_. Did you urge that he should not make the attack?

"_Admiral Dewey_. I do not remember that; very likely I did.

"_Senator Patterson_. And was he not persuaded or restrained by you
from doing so?

"_Admiral Dewey_. I do not remember; but it is very likely. I did
not want to see a lot of them killed unnecessarily, because I knew
they could not take that walled city. They had no artillery, and they
could not take it, I knew very well, and I wanted the situation to
remain as it was until our troops came to occupy it.

"_Senator Patterson_. But you found that whenever you expressed a
strong objection to anything being done at that time that Aguinaldo
yielded to your request?

"_Admiral Dewey_. Up to the time the army came he did everything I
requested. I had not much to do with him after the army came." [101]

But Dewey's influence over Aguinaldo was not sufficient to prevent
his looting, as the following extracts from his testimony show:--