EXHIBIT 18-1

Exhibit 18.1
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August 14, 1995
To the Board of Directors
of Ball Corporation

Dear Directors:

We have been furnished with a copy of the Corporation's Form 10-Q for the
quarter ended June 30, 1995. Note 3 therein describes a change in the method of
determining the cost of certain inventories from the first-in, first-out to the
last-in, first-out 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 Ball Corporation for the three-months
or six-month periods ended June 30, 1995 or June 30, 1994 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/ PRICE WATERHOUSE LLP