You must insist upon a standard, if you stand at a frontier

“You must insist upon a standard, if you stand at a frontier” is Alistair Lauderback’s compact declaration that a frontier requires moral rules rather than mere accommodation. In context, he uses the principle to condemn prostitution, making the phrase both a political slogan and a defense of his judgment about how the settlement should respond.

Meaning and Context

Lauderback calls a prostitute “a moral affliction” and describes prostitution as “A bad drain for good wealth.” He presents this condemnation as a matter of naming things plainly, then invokes the need to insist on a standard in frontier conditions. The sentence had appeared in his most recent electoral address, so its use in conversation also recalls his public political language.

Dispute and Significance

Thomas Balfour answers by turning Lauderback’s language of moral remedy back against him: charitable institutions, he argues, would also drain money. He objects to leaving the women without support or turning them into nuns, pointing to their scarcity in the settlement. Lauderback’s rejoinder, that they are “Outnumbered and outfoxed,” sharpens the exchange into a disagreement over both social judgment and practical policy. The expression’s force lies in its claim that frontier life makes standards especially necessary; the surrounding debate exposes how selectively that principle can be applied when moral condemnation meets the question of what should actually be done.