He was the United States Commissioner of Patents of the United States Patent Office (now the United States Patent and Trademark Office) from 1898 to 1901. He resumed private practice in New York City from 1901 to 1904.
He was the chief patent administrator of the United States Patent Office (now the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office) from 1898 to 1901, and later returned to private practice in New York City from 1901 to 1904.