The history of the standard oil company,1904 1. what problem(s) is this muckraker describing?
2. what was the context of this document ?
3. whom was this excerpt intended to influence?
4. what was the author's purpose for writing this?

THIS IS THE DOCUMENT

The profits of the present Standard Oil Company are enormous. For five years the dividends have been averaging about $45 million a year….When we remember that probably one-third of this immense annual revenue goes into the hands of John D. Rockefeller,…the Standard Oil Company becomes a much more serious public matter than it was in 1872….So long as railroads can be persuaded to interfere with independent pipelines, to refuse oil freight, to refuse loading facilities, lest they disturb their relations with the Standard Oil Company, it is idle to talk about investigations or antitrust legislation or application of the Sherman Law. So long as Standard Oil Company can control transportation as it does today, it will remain master of the oil industry, and the people of the United States will pay for their indifference and folly…
, The History of the Standard Oil Company, 1904