EXHIBIT 18 - LETTER REGARDING CHANGE IN ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLE


                      BEMIS COMPANY, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
                 PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS LLP PREFERABILITY LETTER
                    REGARDING CHANGE TO FIFO INVENTORY METHOD



To the Board of Directors
of Bemis Company, Inc.

Dear Directors:

We have been furnished with a copy of the Corporation's Form 10-Q for the
quarter ended June 30, 1999. Note 1 therein describes a change in the method of
determining the cost of inventories from the last-in, first-out (LIFO) method to
the first-in, first-out (FIFO) method.It should be understood that the
preferability of one acceptable method of inventory accounting over another has
not been addressed in any authoritative accounting literature and in arriving at
our opinion expressed below, we have relied on management's business planning
and judgment.Based upon our discussions with management and the stated reasons
for the change, we believe that such change represents, in your circumstances,
the adoption of a preferable alternative accounting principle for inventories in
conformity with Accounting Principles Board Opinion No. 20.

We have not made an audit in accordance with generally accepted auditing
standards of the financial statements of Bemis Company, Inc. for the three-month
or six-month periods ended June 30, 1999, or June 30, 1998, and accordingly, we
express no opinion thereon or on the financial information filed as part of the
Form 10-Q of which this letter is to be an exhibit.

Yours very truly,




/s/PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS LLP
Minneapolis, Minnesota
July 20, 1999