certain restrictions imposed by our constitutions to safeguard the
rights of the people (see Chapter XXIII).

OUR NATIONAL ARMY

It is to protect these RIGHTS, rather than property itself, that
communities have their police, that states have their militia, and
that the nation has its army and its navy. Among the chief causes
that led us into war with Germany was the fact that Germany was
violating the property rights of our citizens. While our
Constitution provides for state militia and a national army for
the defense of our rights, property rights included, it has always
been our national policy to maintain as small a standing army as
is consistent with the national safety; and this for the very
reason that a large standing army and a large navy are not only a
great burden of expense, but also, as the founders of our nation
believed, a menace to the liberties of the people and to the peace
of the world.

THE SERVICE OF THE COURTS

We have seen that no person may be deprived of property by the
government "without due process of law." This means that the
procedure provided by law must be followed, and that the citizen
whose property is taken may have his side of the case presented,
the value of the property in question appraised by impartial
judges, and so on. It is the business of THE COURTS to see that
justice is done. They inquire into the facts in the case, and
interpret the law bearing on it. The courts are the final
safeguard to our liberties. Our government comprises, therefore,