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New Zealand Tablet, 9 October 1913, Page 36

Mr. John McCormack, the notable Irish tenor, possesses a good friend and admirer in William H. Taft, the burly ex-President of the United States. Mr! Taft's admiration for the great tenor is unbounded, and although he is big and short of breath, he will go a long way to hear his friend. Whenever Mr. McCormack was singing in. Washington during Mr! Taft's term of office, he was always a welcome guest at the White House, and nothing delighted the President more than to hear the tenor sing ' Molly Bawn,' to him the most beautiful song in the English language. It is rather interesting to note that the last function attended by Mr. Taft, before his term of office had expired, was a concert at which the illustrious Irish artist was advertised to sing. The concert was given by the Rubinstein Club at the Raleigh Theatre, Washington, and the President enjoyed himself immensely, for his good friend^' John,' as he quaintly called him, sang 'Molly Bawn,' 'Kathleen Mavourneen,' and many another memorable air. f • : ; :-■