American Sugar Refining Company was the largest American business unit in the sugar refining industry in the early 1900s. It was incorporated in the state of New Jersey on January 10, 1891. According to the Encyclopedia of New York City, "The American Sugar Refining Company was the most important firm of the Sugar Trust, and the loose network of companies controlled by the Havemeyers dominated ... American Sugar, accounting directly and indirectly for 98 percent of the national production by 1907." Like its predecessor, the Sugar Refineries Company (1887), it consolidated most of the existing plants with a view to cost reduction and price control and for many years carried the popular sobriquet, "The Sugar Trust". The United States Supreme Court declared in the much-cited Knight case (United States v. E. C. Knight Company), March 24, 1894, that its purchase of the stock of competitors was not a combination in restraint of trade. The combination expanded horizontally for about twenty years as new competitors arose; later it expanded vertically, undertaking the production of cane and raw sugar in Cuba and acquiring lumber interests. The company was investigated by the Industrial Commission in 1900 and by a special congressional committee in 1911-1912. Federal suit for its dissolution begun in 1910 was terminated by consent decree announced December 21, 1921, when it was stated that its effective control of refined sugar had dropped from 72% to 24%. Magnification of typical sugar In non-scientific use, the term sugar means sucrose, also called table sugar or saccharose, a white crystalline solid disaccharide. ... Official language(s) None, English de facto Capital Trenton Largest city Newark Area  Ranked 47th  - Total 8,729 sq mi (22,608 km²)  - Width 70 miles (110 km)  - Length 150 miles (240 km)  - % water 14. ... January 10 is the 10th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1891 (MDCCCXCI) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... The Encyclopedia of New York City is a comprehensive reference work about New York City published in 1995 by the Yale University Press. ... The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C., (large image) The Supreme Court of the United States, located in Washington, D.C., is the highest court (see supreme court) in the United States; that is, it has ultimate judicial authority within the United States... United States v. ... At present, the law will not enforce certain types of contracts on the ground of illegality. ... The U.S. Industrial Commission (1898-1902) was appointed by President William McKinley to investigate railroad pricing policy, industrial concentration, and the impact of immigration on labor markets, and make recommendations to the President and Congress. ... A Congressional committee in the parlance of the United States Congress and politics of the United States is a legislative sub-organization that handles a specific duty (rather than the general duties of Congress, making necessary and proper laws). ...

According to the Encyclopedia of New York City, "the struggle ended with a settlement in 1922 that allowed the firm to remain intact but forced it to refrain from unfair business practices, and as competition revived, the firm ceased to dominate the industry". After the Great Depression the sugar refining industry declined as alternatives to sugar and modern technology were introduced. Great Depression was a worldwide economic downturn which started in 1929 (although its effects were not fully felt until late 1930) and lasted through most of the 1930s. ...