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 Oil of Shanghai, who also built the 500-ton launch "Mei Foo" in 1912. "Mei Hsia" ("Beautiful Gorges") was launched in 1926 and carried 350 tons of bulk oil in three holds, plus a forward cargo hold, and space between decks for carrying general cargo or packed oil. She had a length of , a beam of , depth of , and had a bullet-proof wheelhouse. "Mei Ping" ("Beautiful Tranquility"), launched in 1927, was designed offshore, but assembled and finished in Shanghai. Its oil-fuel burners came from the U.S. and water-tube boilers came from England. Standard Oil Company and Socony-Vacuum Oil Company