Sioux City Street Railway Co. v. Sioux City

Citations

• 138 U.S. 98
• 11 S. Ct. 226
• 34 L. Ed. 898
• 1891 U.S. LEXIS 2068

Syllabus

<p>On December 12, 1883, the city of Sioux City, in Iowa, by ordinance, conferred on a street railway company, incorporated December 6, 1883, under the general laws of Iowá, the right of operating a street railway, with the requirement that it should pave the street between the rails. Subsequently, under an act of 1884, the city, by ordinance, required the company also to pave the street for one foot-outside of the rails, and assessed a special tax against it for the cost of the paving outside of the rails : Held, that there was no contract between the company and the State or the city, the obligation of which was impaired by the laying of the tax.</p> <p>Under section 1090 of the Code of Iowa, which was in force when the company was incorporated, its franchise was subject to such conditions as the legislature should thereafter impose as necessary for the public good.</p>