Louis Fischer came to the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) in 1901 as the Chief of the Weights and Measures Section [successor to the Office of Weights and Measures (OWM) in the Coast and Geodetic Survey] after having worked since the age of 16 at OWM. Immediately upon taking up his new duties, Fischer launched an investigation of state weights and measures enforcement and found disappointing results. Fischer's section at NBS drew up designs for accurate but inexpensive working standards for the use of state, county, and city sealers and distributed them to several manufacturers. Thus sealers for the first time could buy sets of standard weights, measures, and scales specifically designed for their use and send them to the Bureau to be verified and certified.