People
Punctuality is one of the cardinal virtues. Always insist on it in your subordinates and dependents.
— Don Marquis
Behind the line May contain spoilers.
Our reading
An editorial interpretation.
Punctuality is announced as a cardinal virtue, but the instruction is to demand it from subordinates and dependents. Read as satire, the emphasis makes the principle conveniently one-sided. The speaker's lofty praise of a virtue ends as a rule to impose on other people.
Context reviewed