Harvard Business History Review article

Here's a random quote from a book my father Peter Mellish Reed's article 'Standard Oil in Indonesia, 1898-1928' from his article published in Harvard's Business History Review, coincidentally, my mother's great-great-grand-relatives worked for in the 1800-1920's.

Peter Mellish Reed
Standard Oil in Indonesia, 1898-1928
For many years Americans engaged in business abroad at their own risk, unaided in any important way by the backing of their government. When confronted with the forces of national self-interest, they faced frustration. Then the policy of the United States, aware of its economic responsibilities and opportunities and dangers, swung to their support. The new diplomacy was not always adept, but it produced remarkable changes. These are exemplified in the thirty-year history of American efforts to gain an entry to the oilfields of the Netherlands East Indies. The files of the Department of State provide an intimate and unique view both of motivations and the mechanisms of change. (Pages 311-337)