The History of the Standard Oil Company for Standard Oil and lived through what Ida called "hate, suspicion, and fear that engulfed the community." As a direct witness to the schemes and horizontal integration of John D. Rockefeller and his associates, Tarbell began building the foundations of "The History of the Standard Oil Company" early with growing senses of interest and discontent. After her education and accumulate writing experience, Tarbell began working at "McClure's" Magazine, where she wrote several successful series on historical figures. After this initial success, her shift turned to John D. Rockefeller. She began by interviewing Henry H. Rogers, one of her father's fellow
Standard Vacuum Oil Company in the region. This led to the beginning of the petroleum industry in China: Before 1937, Chinese oil production was measured in quarts and, in its crude condition, was used solely as a lubricant. This first well, developed under the most primitive of conditions and with relatively untrained personnel, began to produce over twenty barrels of oil a day. In time, with equipment brought in from Szechuan and elsewhere and the development of several distillation plants, nine more wells were drilled in the immediate area. A letter from my father to T. E. Mobley of Standard Vacuum in June 1942