aggressive price war to put Spreckels out of business. In retaliation Spreckels opened a Philadelphia refinery in 1889, intending to undercut the Trust's business in the East. A fierce price war continued for two years, until the Trust and Spreckels came to an agreement in 1891: Spreckels sold his Philadelphia refinery to the Trust and the two sides agreed to keep out of each other's territory. The years 1889-1892 were a severely competitive time for the Trust, where the margin between the cost of raw sugar and the price of refined sugar was at its lowest. Alleviation of conditions came when the McKinley Act of 1890 eliminated import duties on raw sugar. Consequently, prices of refined sugar dropped and there resulted an increase in sugar consumption. In spite of intense competition from Spreckels, the Trust saw profits increase, distributed large dividends, and continued to expand. In 1891 Havemeyer moved to acquire the remaining three Philadelphia refineries. The acquisition of E.C. Knight Company, one of the Philadelphia refineries, was challenged by the U. S. government in the landmark case, United States v. E. C. Knight Co.. In 1895, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Sugar Trust, on the grounds that sugar refining was manufacture, not interstate commerce, and was therefore not under the jurisdiction of the federal government, nor covered by the Sherman Antitrust Act. Arbuckle Sugar and Coffee War 1898-1901 In 1898, John Arbuckle, a coffee merchant and wholesale grocer from Pittsburgh, head of the Coffee Trust, entered the sugar market. Arbuckle coated his beans in a mixture of Irish Moss, Isinglass, Gelatine, Sugar and Eggs to preserve flavor which also enriched the coffee. Arbuckle had innovated in the automated packaging of his coffee beans and began to repackage sugar, which he bought from the Sugar Trust, to sell alongside his coffee beans. Arbuckle moved to produce his own sugar and built a refinery in Brooklyn. Thereafter Havemeyer and Arbuckle entered into a fierce competition. Havemeyer bought controlling interest in a coffee business, Woolson Spice Company of Toledo, Ohio, in order to undercut Arbuckle's prices. Arbuckle retaliated by lowering prices on the sugar produced at his new refinery. The price war continued for three years. In 1901 the two men came to an agreement to end their costly war. Congressional investigations On June 12, 1894 H.O. Havemeyer testified before a special committee of senators appointed to investigate the