At this time, McDevitt was serving as the superintendent of Catholic schools in Philadelphia and was active in the establishment of the NCEA. These letters have to do with a Bureau of Health request that the Catholic schools pay for the supplies necessary for their fumigation. McDevitt's reply shows that Catholics, one-third of the population, pay for one-half of the cost of maintaining public schools, and get no benefit from them; they should therefore... not be required to pay for fumigation, which is done without expense to public schools.