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C00002 00002	Dear Bill:
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Dear Bill:

	This is a complaint about incompetence in the Sponsored Projects
Office that cost us two weeks in getting started on a project.  It
seems that the authorization to spend money on our Qlisp project
funded by DARPA arrived in Sponsored Projects on July 22.  On three
occasions between then and August 6, Lester Earnest inquired whether
the money had arrived and was informed that it hadn't.  Finally, on
August 6 and additional inquiry was answered that the money had
been here since July 22.

	I had alway supposed that the practice of having Congressmen
announce grants and contracts was merely a device for getting the
Congresmen publicity.  Now it seems that this may be the best way
of finding out.  We have been waiting out Government delays to start
this project for almost two years, and it is very unpleasant to have
additional delays from Stanford incompetence.

	Please tell us how this delay occurred and what measures
have been taken to prevent it occurring again.

Sincerely,

cc: Nils Nilsson, Chairman, Computer Science Department
cc: C. Frederick Bentley II, Associate Director Sponsored Projects Office
Dean of Engineering