The History of the Standard Oil Company or influence. These reactions are immortalized in political cartoons utilizing imagery of Rockefeller's hidden agendas being demolished by investigative journalism and muckraking. Several journal and newspaper reviewers addressed "The History of Standard Oil Company" by praising its calmness in the face of hatred, focus on facts, and genuine exposure of the effects that greed can have on businessmen seeking success. A 1904 editorial review from the New York Times relayed the highlights of the volumes to the public, noting the diplomatic tendencies of Tarbell within her work - still widely respectful of the achievements of John D. Rockefeller but critical
Standard Oil - to ship his refined oil from Cleveland to New York City. In the winter months his only options were the three trunk lines - the Erie Railroad and the New York Central Railroad to New York City, and the Pennsylvania Railroad to Philadelphia. Competitors disliked the company's business practices, but consumers liked the lower prices. Standard Oil, being formed well before the discovery of the Spindletop oil field (in Texas, far from Standard Oil's base in the Mid-West) and a demand for oil other than for heat and light, was well placed to control the growth of the oil