"Surprisingly," according to John Y. Cole, the ASE series was free from official government censorship. But the Army and Navy chief librarians, Trautman and DuBois, made sure that all books were acceptable to both services, and rejected works with "statements or attitudes offensive to our Allies, any religious or racial group, or (...) not in accord 'with the spirit of American democracy'". The publication of Louis Adamic's "Native's Return" as an ASE title caused controversy because the novel's first edition had contained passages that were considered pro-Communist. Although these had been removed in later editions and the ASE version, Congressman George A. Dondero still protested against what he considered government distribution of "Communist propaganda". More serious problems for the ASE ensued when Title V of the Soldier Voting Act of 1944 limited the distribution of government-financed information to soldiers. The act was sponsored by Senator Robert A. Taft, who feared that the Roosevelt administration would distribute propaganda in favor of the president's reelection to a fourth term. The Army strictly enforced the act and, as a result, banned the ASE publication of Charles A. Beard's history "The Republic" and Catherine Drinker Bowen's O.W. Holmes biography "Yankee from Olympus" among other works. After vigorous public backlash, Congress amended the act to make it less restrictive.