One Stop Shoppin$ 4B

T[e have three modern wood treating facilities to serve you: Buclorer (Kansas City), Mo., Glenwood and Amity, Ar.

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What, Me Worry?

VOICE #1: "What's to get ready for? Business is good, forecasts are good, ['ll worry about the future when it gets here."

VOICE #2: "We've enjoyed a very long period of prosperity, this has traditionally been a cyclical business, some kind of downturn is inevitable."

While the ease of complying with Voice #l is undeniable, prudence dictates that we pay serious attention to the sober warning of Voice #2. lt may be added effort to do that, but long-term profitability and even corporate survival clearly belong to the latter choice.

Planning ahead is something we hear about a lot from Corporate America. Both bigs and smalls piously trot out tentative scenarios ranging frorii sales forecasts to next year's inventory control, slated improvements in operations, financing future projects, corporate goals and the like. Some are verbal, sometimes mainly hot air. Some are written down and presented as Holy Script by

High Priests of the Company. Some, remarkably enough, are even begun. To the surprise of almost no one, very few are ever carried through to completion. The record of planning completed is not a promising one.

Yet the talk at all levels in business and in the country in general seems to be: How long can these good times continue? Housing starts have been at very high levels. The stock market is playing around in mountaintop territory. Inflation and interest rates, and hence mortgages, are at low, valley levels. The best of all worlds. Some seers have proclaimed that we have moved into a new era of continuing prosperity. We hope they're right, but we don't think so.

Given the vast and amply proven human ability to screw up things, the idea ofeternal prosperity seems a fable for the foolish.

The voices of reason are clear. Plan now for the tough times sure to come, or pay dearly for your neglect later.