City of New York v. Pelham Park Railroad

Under section 8 of the General Street Bail-road Act, as originally passed (Laws of 1884, chap. 252), no percentage of gross earnings was required to be paid by a railroad in a municipality of less than 250,000 inhabitants, except when required by the local authorities as a condition to its construction, operation or extension. In a city of 250,000 or over, however, such a payment was required whenever a line was constructed or extended after the passage of the act. The provision had no element of contract or consent about it. It was mandatory and self-executing. It was based upon the…