Introduction to wound microbiology
Prevention and treatment of infection in wounds is not a new science. In fact, medical information on wound care was documented on clay tablets discovered in Mesopotamia dating back to around 2500 bc. Other medical information found on papyrus in Egypt also gives an insight into how medicine was practised (Forrest 1982). People have always dressed wounds, using a variety of substances and methods, with the prime aim to promote quick healing of the injury and to prevent infection. Many other treatment strategies for wound care have been passed down the centuries through folk lore and other documentation.
Hippocrates, some 2400 years ago, wrote of the use of boiled or filtered water for washing wounds, application of tar (an early antiseptic), and the use of compresses for dressing wounds, using oil, wine, or vinegar (Elliot 1964). Reviews of ancient literature reveal that various other medicines have been tried alongside a variety of surgical techniques. Early surgeons in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries recognized that the formation of pus in a wound would be problematic for wound healing along with dead and decaying tissue, and its removal was widely practised (early debridement). In addition, different ointments would be applied to the wound to eradicate any poisons that may have accumulated in the wound (antiseptics). In current practice, wound care still uses the basic premise of cleaning, debridement, and dressing of the wound, following whatever surgical intervention is required. This is very important from a microbiological perspective. Dead and decaying tissue must be removed since bacteria will use this to grow and multiply in the wound bed, producing toxins and enzymes that will impede wound healing. Cleansing is also very important to remove accumulation of toxic substances in wound exudate. Cleansing will also facilitate removal of some free-floating bacteria which would otherwise attach to the wound bed and continue to create problems for wound healing. The overall impact of good wound cleansing and debridement is the reduction of organism
numbers and removal of nutrients that will allow bacterial growth. A good clean wound bed with low numbers of microorganisms is necessary for the migration of new cells and ultimate wound closure.
Whilst research into wound biology has helped understand a number of reasons why some wounds do not heal, there are still a large number of unknowns and in the last decade the importance of ‘biofilms’ in wounds has been recognized. The interaction of microorganisms in this form with the host tissues contributes to the chronicity of the wound and prevents healing. How to eradicate these microorganisms will be discussed in later chapters, but how to prevent them is also essential to enable the desired rapid healing. Wounds that remain unhealed for a long time are known to produce worse scarring.
DEFINITION
A biofilm is an aggregate of microorganisms attached to a surface, encased in a protective matrix.
In addition to research into the biology of wound healing, there has also been a massive increase in the number of wound care products available including novel dressings, such as antimicrobial-impregnated dressings, cleaning agents, and innovative diagnostic tools. Skin substitutes for the burned or traumatized patient are helping to produce a more favourable outcome for the patient in terms of appearance.
In the last two decades, increased numbers of antibiotic-resistant bacteria have been isolated from wounds and although they do not always cause infection in the host their carriage can be a source of infection for other vulnerable groups of patients. If these organisms do cause wound infection in the patient, then the treatment is more difficult as the availability of antibiotics diminishes. The number of new antibiotics to be produced over the next decade is in single figures (Cooke 2004) so as wound care practitioners, alternative methods of preventing and treating wound infection must be reviewed. All wound care practices and associated products used in wound care must be thoroughly evaluated and evidence reported to help improve the outcome for the patient. Also, a full understanding of the interaction of microorganisms with the various stages of wound healing will help us understand how we can best protect the patient from infection or prolonged wound healing.
Wound care places an enormous burden on healthcare services in terms of cost of wound dressings and treatments, nursing care, surgical interventions
and emotional impact on the patient. This is compounded when there is an associated infection, or when there is a non-healing chronic wound. Therefore a good understanding of how microorganisms reproduce and cause disease is essential and the appropriate use of antimicrobials and cleansing procedures to reduce microbial load is necessary to diminish this burden on health services.
Microbiology is a very complex subject area and it is hoped that this text will provide wound care professionals with the most practical and applicable information regarding the importance of microbes in wound care, including bacterial, fungal, viral, and parasitic diseases.
What is microbiology?
Microbiology is the study of living organisms that can be so small that they cannot be seen by the naked eye. Microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites) vary in size (see Table 1.1) and a variety of different types of microscopes are used to visualize them. The first primitive microscopes were made in the seventeenth century and since then a wide range of microscopes have been developed to help the microbiologist.
FACT
A simple light microscope can magnify an object up to approximately 400 times and is often used to see bacteria, fungi, and parasites. A sophisticated electron microscope, which can magnify up to approximately 10,000 times, is needed to visualize viruses which are about 500–1000 times smaller than bacteria.
Microorganisms are ubiquitous and exist in the air, water, soil, animals, and plants. The human body is covered with microorganisms and generally they do no harm, existing in high numbers in moist areas, for example, the armpits (axilla), groin, and the feet. If we do not wash regularly, they continue to increase in number, break down fatty acids, and start to produce an odour (body odour). They are also found in very high numbers in the bowel and one gram of faeces contains about one million million bacterial cells (1012). It is very easy to transfer organisms from the bowel onto the hands which is why handwashing after toilet use is important. The hands are the commonest vehicle for transferring organisms from one person to the other.
Table 1.1
Comparative sizes of microorganisms
Size
1 m (metre)
0.5 mm (millimetres)
10 mm
1–4 µm (micrometres)
10–12 µm
Organism
Tapeworm
Scabies
Threadworms
Staphylococcus spp. (bacteria)
Streptococcus spp. (bacteria)
Pseudomonas spp. (bacteria)
Malaria (protozoa)
1–10 nm (nanometres) Pox virus
Influenza virus
Polio virus
Observed by
Naked eye
Naked eye/ magnifying lens
Light microscope
Electron microscope
Microorganisms can be beneficial to humans and are used extensively in the food and drink industry as part of the processes used to make bread, cheese, yoghurt, and alcohol. They are integral to natural processes where they break down organic material into nutrients that can be recycled and used by other organisms. However, they can also cause devastating disease in humans, plants, and animals, which creates a huge health burden on society. Microbiology as a science has expanded greatly over the last 50 years and parallels many of the developments in technology, medicine, and analytical science. Although many traditional methods are still used routinely to identify potential microbes causing infectious disease, a variety of new techniques is being made available. Through the application of these techniques, we are beginning to fully understand some of the issues that have concerned microbiologists for years. These new technologies have allowed a more comprehensive understanding of how we live alongside these microscopic living organisms in health and disease. Detection of important genes within the microbial cell and their regulation at a molecular level can help develop new treatment strategies. In addition, understanding the epidemiology and spread of disease has allowed us to reduce the risk of acquiring infection and vaccination has protected society against some of the most devastating infectious diseases known to humankind. For example, through vaccination, no new cases of smallpox (a viral disease) have been recorded for over 30 years. There have been no cases of bubonic plague (a bacterial disease) in the Western world for a decade, although there are still occasional cases reported in Asia and other developing countries. Prevention and treatment of infection
using antimicrobial agents has reduced infection for many and hopefully will continue to do so in years to come, even though antimicrobial resistance is increasing as the microorganisms adapt.
Can all microorganisms cause disease in humans?
There are thousands of different microorganisms, but only about 400 different species of bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites cause infection in humans. These are termed ‘pathogens’ and they possess different properties that allow them to overcome the immune response and develop clinical infection. Such microorganisms are called ‘pathogenic’ and their ability to cause disease is due to their ‘virulence’ or ‘pathogenicity’.
Microorganisms that do not cause infection are termed ‘non-pathogens’, that is, they do not possess any properties that allow them to overcome the immune system and cause clinical disease.
Another group of microorganisms may be termed ‘opportunistic pathogens’ and this means they are capable of causing disease when the host is immunocompromised for whatever reason. An example of an opportunistic infection is when a common skin organism Staphylococcus epidermidis (which is part of the normal skin flora) enters the bloodstream through a plastic cannula resulting in bacteraemia.
KEY POINT
◆ A pathogen is a microorganism capable of invading the body and causing disease.
◆ A non-pathogen is a microorganism not capable of causing disease
◆ An opportunistic pathogen is capable of causing infection in immunocompromised individuals.
◆ A commensal is a microorganism that lives in harmony with the host and other microorganisms.
◆ Normal flora are microorganisms frequently found in a particular niche, not causing harm to the host (sometimes termed commensal flora).
An example of a wound pathogen that can cause devastating disease is Clostridium perfringens which causes gas gangrene. This infection may result
as a complication of a fracture or after surgery. The pathogen, Clostridium perfringens, enters the wound (usually following contamination from the bowel) and when there is restricted oxygen, the organism will grow within the wound causing necrosis (gangrene) and gas will be produced within the tissues. As Clostridium perfringens grows, it produces a powerful toxin (poison) that kills any cell it attacks (red blood cells, white blood cells, and tissue cells) causing massive tissue destruction.
How humans are protected from infection: the immune system
The immune system is a flexible protection system that protects the human body against invasion by microorganisms. It is not foolproof and many pathogens can overcome the immune defences and cause disease. The immune defence system is broadly divided into the non-specific (innate or natural) system and the specific (adaptive) immune system. If either system is compromised because of poor health, a poor vascular supply, poor nutrition, and so on, then an individual will be more prone to contracting infection or being colonized by microorganisms.
FACT
The immune system protects people from infection and is broadly divided into two parts: the non-specific and the specific immune system. The non-specific system includes numerous physical mechanisms, such as the inflammation reaction, cough reflex, and skin structure, and physiological factors, enzymes, complement, lactoferrin, mucous, macrophages, and cytokines. The specific system is focused on the production of protective antibodies.
What is non-specific immunity?
Many components of this system are normal mechanical and physiological properties of the host, for example, the integrity of the skin, fatty acid secretion, mechanical flushing, ciliary action leading to removal of mucous and debris in the respiratory tract, enzymatic action of lysozyme in tears, complement, phagocytes, and normal flora. If the health of an individual is compromised through surgery, or they have medical devices in situ, are at
extremes of age, have a poor vascular supply, have uncontrolled diabetes, or other health issues and poor nutrition, then they will be very prone to infection.
One of the most important non-specific events that are responsible for protecting the host is the inflammation reaction. There are four major responses observed at the site of infection—pain, heat, redness, and swelling—and although the inflammation reaction occurs in every individual, the responses may vary depending upon the host or the pathogen. Traditional clinical signs of a wound infection are purulent discharge, spreading erythema, pain, and swelling. These are described by Cutting and Harding (1994) and revised by Cutting and White (2006) where symptoms of infection in different wound types are described in more detail. Box 1.1 describes the criteria used to describe an acute wound infection, with additional criteria describing clinical manifestations in a chronic wound.
Box 1.1 Signs and symptoms of a wound infection
Traditional wound infection criteria
◆ Abscess
◆ Cellulitis
◆ Discharge, including serous exudate, with inflammation, seropurulent, haemo-purulent, and pus.
Additional criteria
◆ Delayed healing
◆ Discolouration
◆ Friable granulation tissue which bleeds easily
◆ Unexpected pain or tenderness
◆ Pocketing at the base of the wound
◆ Bridging of the epithelium or soft tissue
◆ Abnormal smell.
Source: data from Cutting KF and Harding KG, Criteria for identifying wound infection, Journal of Wound Care, Volume 3, Issue 2, pp. 198–201, Copyright © 2013 HMP Communications; and Cutting CF and White R., Defined and refined: Criteria for identifying wound infection revisited, British Journal of Community Nursing, Volume 9, Issue 3, pp. S6–15, Copyright © 2004 MA Healthcare Limited.
A position document has been produced by the European Wound Management Association to further consolidate criteria for infection (European Wound Management Association, 2005).
What is specific immunity?
The specific immune response is a series of adaptive changes, triggered in response to individual organisms or components of microorganisms, resulting in the production of specific antibodies. These are activated due to the recognition of specific antigens produced by or present on the surface of the pathogen. In the early response (or primary response), immunoglobulin IgM is produced, which is then replaced by large amounts of IgG (secondary response). In mucous membranes, IgA is produced in abundance. These specific antibodies will protect from future infection and inactivate the pathogen and prepare it for destruction.
Whilst there have been huge advances in understanding the immune system and the wound healing process, the interaction of microorganism in this process is sometimes overlooked.
KEY POINT
Antigens are made from amino acids or sugar residues linked together to form short sequences. The short sequences are termed epitopes and can be derived from toxins, surface proteins on virus-infected cells.
Conclusion
In the United Kingdom, there is estimated to be over 300,000 patients at any one time living with chronic wounds causing problems to their general dayto-day living and impeding their quality of life (Posnett and Franks 2008). The true cost to an individual cannot be estimated, although there is a monetary value placed on the healthcare costs. Why an individual with no evident impediment to their immune system develops a non-healing wound is confounding numerous wound care practitioners. In many cases, no matter what treatment strategy is applied to the wound, the normal wound healing process appears to be halted in the inflammatory phase. Whether this is due to overproduction of host factors such as matrix metalloproteases, or a wound biofilm, or both, affecting the immune response and wound healing process needs further investigation. New technologies are in development to
try to answer some of these questions but until they are available and have been adequately tested, then as practitioners unfortunately you must continue to address problem wounds empirically and perhaps assume the interaction of microorganisms and/or products they produce, are impeding the wound healing process.
Further reading
Ford M Medical Microbiology (2nd ed). Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2014.
Goering RV, Dockrell H, Zuckerman M, et al. Mims Medical Microbiology (7th ed). Philadelphia, PA: Saunders; 2013.
References
Cooke J. Infectious diseases – the need for new antibiotics. Hosp Pharm. 2004;11: 265–268.
Cutting KF, Harding KG. Criteria for identifying wound infection. J Wound Care 1994;3(4):198–201.
Cutting CF, White R. Defined and refined: criteria for identifying wound infection revisited. Br J Community Nurs. 2004;9(3):S6–15.
Elliott IMZ. A Short History of Surgical Dressings. London: The Pharmaceutical Press; 1964.
European Wound Management Association. Identifying Criteria for Wound Infection. Position document. London: MEP Ltd; 2005.
Forrest RD. Early history of wound treatment. J Royal Soc Med. 1982;75:198–205.
Posnett J, Franks PJ. The burden of chronic wounds in the UK. Nurs Times. 2008;104(3):44–45.
Different groups of microorganisms
Bacteria
Bacteria are single-celled organisms known as prokaryotes which have important differences from eukaryotes that facilitate their survival and treatment. Table 2.1 highlights the differences between a prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell.
Table 2.1 The major differences between a eukaryote cell (human cell) and a prokaryote cell (bacterial cell)
Prokaryote
Eukaryote
Nuclear structure and processes
Nuclear membrane Absent Present
Chromosomes Single chromosome (haploid) Pairs of chromosomes (diploid)
Nuclear division No mitosis Mitosis
Cytoplasm structures and processes
Ribosome 70s 80s
Mitochondria, golgi apparatus, endoplasmic reticulum Absent Present
Cell wall (peptidoglycan) Present Absent
Bacteria possess both deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA). They have no defined nucleus, mitochondria or other organelles enclosed in a membrane, which means that any structure is free floating in the cytoplasm. They usually have a rigid cell wall (there are exceptions, e.g. Mycoplasma) consisting of a polymer of amino sugars, N-acetyl muramic acid, and N-acetyl glucosamine called peptidoglycan. This structure is not seen in eukaryotic cells which make it an ideal target for some antimicrobial compounds (e.g. penicillins and cephalosporins).
DEFINITION
Peptidoglycan is a polymer of two amino sugars and is unique to bacteria. It is the target site for penicillin.
The outer layer of the cell wall can vary between different bacterial species but may include structures such as pili, fimbriae, and flagella. Some species have a capsule, usually polysaccharide, which is external to the cell wall and is a common pathogenic mechanism which helps the bacteria resist phagocytosis by macrophages, and also helps with adhesion to tissue cells. The basic bacterial structure is diagrammatically represented in Figure 2.1 and the individual structures described in Table 2.2.
Flagella
Capsule
Cell wall
Inclusion
Membrane
Plasmid
Cytoplasm
Single chromosome
Figure 2.1 The different structures found on a bacterial cell.
Table 2.2 Major structures of a bacterial cell
Pili and fimbraie Hair-like structures that stick out from the cell surface of some species. They help with adhesion and consist mainly of protein
Flagella Long, thin structures that are responsible for movement. Bacteria can have a single flagellum or multiple flagella at different parts of the cell
Spores These form a very dense protective coat that helps the bacterial cell resist adverse conditions. Commonly seen in Bacillus spp. or Clostridia spp. Helpful with identification of the organism
(Continued)
Table 2.2 (continued) Major structures of a bacterial cell
DNA
Bacterial DNA is a single, supercoiled chromosome. It is not surrounded by a nuclear membrane. There may also be plasmids inside a bacterial cell. These are extrachromosomal DNA
Cell envelope Consists of outer membrane, cell wall, and cytoplasmic membrane
outer membrane only found in gram-negative bacteria, consists of lipopolysaccharide
Cell wall
Cell membrane
Capsule
Slime layer (glycocalyx)
Rigid polymer consisting of alternating groups of Nacetylmuramic acid and N-acetylglucosamine, which forms peptidoglycan. of varying thickness, with gram-positive organisms having a thicker cell wall than gram-negative organisms
Cell membrane consists of lipid bilayer and enclosed by a thick cell wall (exception: Mycoplasma spp. do not have a cell wall)
External to cell wall but still attached to the bacteria. Most commonly consists of polysaccharide but odd exceptions (Bacillus anthracis) can have a protein capsule
External to the cell wall but often secreted and not firmly attached. Consists mainly of polysaccharide
How do we assign bacteria into their species?
Bacteria are divided into general groups based on the staining reaction and biochemical tests used frequently in the laboratory (e.g. microscopic shape and Gram reaction), nutritional and biochemical requirements (e.g. requirement for oxygen, temperature dependence, pH, and lactose utilization production of catalase enzyme), immunological status (e.g. antigens present on their surface), and more recently using genetic and protein markers (e.g. gene sequencing, presence of specific genes, and protein patterns).
In addition to helping assign bacteria to particular taxa, understanding their physiology, structure, biochemistry, and nutritional status also allows the microbiologist to understand their pathogenicity (ability to cause disease) and possible treatment.
Other biochemical and genetic techniques are used to identify bacteria fully and some of the traditional methods will be described further in Chapter 3.
Another random document with no related content on Scribd:
JESUS, Discovery of a fragment of the Logia or Sayings of.
See (in this volume)
ARCHÆOLOGICAL RESEARCH: EGYPT: DISCOVERY OF A FRAGMENT.
----------JEWS: Start--------
JEWS:
Discovery of the sole mention of the people of Israel in Egyptian inscriptions.
See (in this volume)
ARCHÆOLOGICAL RESEARCH: EGYPT: RESULTS.
JEWS:
General results of recent archæological research as affecting our knowledge of the ancient Hebrews.
See (in this volume)
ARCHÆOLOGICAL RESEARCH: IN BIBLE LANDS.
JEWS: A. D. 1897:
Freedom of residence in Russia given to the university educated.
See (in this volume)
RUSSIA: A. D. 1897.
JEWS: A. D. 1897-1901. The Zionist movement.
"The three closing days of August [1897] saw a congress at Basle concerning the significance of which friends and foes alike seem already pretty well agreed. It was the Congress of Zionists. Zionists! Until then that word was almost unknown to the public at large. Zionism virtually made its bow to the
Gentile world at Basle, and disclosed for the first time what its aims and its needs were. … It was in my work, 'The Jewish State,' which appeared a year and a half ago, that I first formulated what the Congress at Basle virtually adopted as an axiom. In the terms of that definition: 'Zionism has for its object the creation of a home, secured by public rights, for those Jews who either cannot or will not be assimilated in the country of their adoption.'
"Nothing was more instructive at the Basle Congress than the vigour I might almost say violence with which the representatives of the great Jewish strata of population resisted any attempt to limit the guarantees for a State based on public rights. The executive appointed to draw up a programme had proposed 'a legally secured home.' The delegates, however, were not satisfied, and clamoured for an alteration to 'secured on the basis of international rights.' It was only by adopting the intermediary expression 'public rights' that an agreement was arrived at. The significance of this logomachy is, that what the Jews desire is not to acquire more tracts of land, but a country for the Jewish people, and to emphasise that desire in terms as plain as possible without wounding certain legitimate and sovereign susceptibilities. We can acquire land any day in our private right everywhere. But that is not the point with Zionists. In our case we have nothing to do with private rights. That will come later as well as the land speculators once our movement has achieved success. What the Zionists are alone directing their attention to is the 'public rights' idea. In that they hope to find a remedy for the old evil. Were I to express myself paradoxically, I should say that a country belonging to the Jews on the basis of public rights, even though down to the very last parcel it was the legally secured property of non-Jews, would mean the final solution of the Jewish question. … We have held a gathering at Basle before the whole world, and there we saw the national consciousness and the popular will break forth, at times like a convulsive upheaval.
To Basle came Jews of all countries, of all tongues, of all parties, and of all forms of religious confession. There were more than 200 representatives of the Jewish people most of them delegates for hundreds and thousands. Men from Roumania alone brought over 50,000 signatures of those who had sent them there. There surely was never such a motley assembly of opinions in such a narrow space before. On the other hand, there would certainly have been more conflict of opinion in any other deliberative assembly than there was in this. …
"It would … appear to be to the interest of Turkey to come to an arrangement with the Jews. But, what are the interests which other Governments would have in assisting the realisation of a legally guaranteed Jewish home? The interest would vary with each country, but it is present in some form or other everywhere. It would mean the drawing off of an unhappy and detested element of population which is reduced more and more to a condition of despair, and which, scattered over the face of the earth, and in a state of unrest, must perforce identify itself with the most extreme parties everywhere. Governments and all friends of the existing order of things cannot bring themselves to believe that, by helping us in the solution we propose, they could give peace to an element which has been driven to revolution and rendered dangerous through its dispersion. That a highly conservative people, like the Jews, have always been driven into the ranks of revolutionists is the most lamentable feature in the tragedy of our race. Zionism would mean an end to all that. We should see results accrue for the general condition of mankind, the full benefits of which we cannot even guess. There are, of course, a great number of existing political difficulties to be overcome, but these, given the necessary good will, might be surmounted."
Theodor
Herzl,
The
Zionist Congress (Contemporary Review, October, 1897).
"The programme of the Philo-Zionists as defined in their printed constitution is as follows:
(a) To foster the national idea in Israel.
(b) To promote the colonization of Palestine and neighbouring territories by Jews, by establishing new colonies and assisting those already established.
(c) To diffuse the knowledge of Hebrew as a living language.
(d) To further the moral, intellectual, and material status of Israel.
The English Association, known as the Chovevi Zion, is presided over by Colonel Albert Edward Goldsmid, Assistant Adjutant-General of Her Majesty's Forces; it has 35 established 'Tents' spread through the length and breadth of the United Kingdom. … Similar associations have been established in America, Germany, France, Russia, Austria, Denmark, Switzerland, and other countries; and there is a central committee meeting at Paris, where the organisation of new colonies and development of existing ones in the Holy Land is systematically carried out. Even before these associations had been called into existence Baron Edmond de Rothschild of Paris, encouraged by the success of the agricultural schools at Jaffa, founded by the late Charles Netter, had devoted his vast influence and his open purse to the work; and there is a separate administration in Palestine charged with the control and management of what are known as 'the Baron's colonies.'
"To-day we have in Palestine between twenty and thirty distinct colonies or communities spreading along the coast from Askalon in the south to Carmel in the north, and along
the Jordan from the Waters of Meron to the Sea of Galilee in the east. The population of these colonies varies from 100 to 700 souls, and they may safely be estimated to number 10,000 souls in all, independently of the large number of Jewish day labourers from neighbouring towns and villages, to whom they give occasional employment. There are 50,000 more Jews mostly refugees in the various Holy Cities, and the immediate problem is to get these or the better part of them also on the land.
The current language of the colonists is the Hebrew of the Bible, although many of them have acquired the native Arabic, and also French, which is taught in their schools. They have their places of worship, their houses of study, their modest institutes, their public baths, and in fact the counterpart in small of all the features of the model European village: and they have, thanks to the Baron and the Philo-Zionists' Associations, the most modern appliances and complete installations for the prosecution of their agricultural works."
Herbert Bentwich, Philo-Zionists and Anti-Semites (Nineteenth Century, October,
1897).
"At the beginning of March, 1898, an important Conference was held in London, attended by delegates from nearly 50 societies, representing 10,000 English Zionists, and resolutions were passed adopting the International programme, and making provisions for a federation of all the English Zionist bodies. Similar conferences were held in New York, in Berlin, in Galatz (Roumania), and other great centres; and local federations were everywhere formed to give greater strength and solidity to the general organization. At the second International Congress, which was held at Basle in August, 1898, and was attended by an imposing body of more than 500 delegates, the Executive Committee were able to report that the 'Basle programme' had received the support of 913 Zionist organizations (out of which over 700 had sprung up
since the first Congress), it being calculated that these represented at least a quarter of a million of active members. The Congress had become the authorised representative and exponent of the people's wishes, and the Zionists had become a power to be reckoned with in any settlement of the Jewish question. Prominent among the attendants at this world gathering were the Rabbis crown officials from orthodox Russia and Poland, as well as the elect of reform congregations from America who took an active interest in the settlement of the programme of work for the ensuing year, which was the main business of the meeting."
H. Bentwich, The Progress of Zionism (Fortnightly Review, December, 1898).
At the International Zionist Congress which assembled in London on the 13th of August, 1900, the report of the executive committee on the progress which the movement has made showed as follows: "In Russia there are at least 100,000 members of Zionist societies; in England the movement is supported by 38 societies, as against 16 last year, and all these societies have increased membership. Thanks to the work of the English Zionist Federation Zionism has made great headway in England. In the United States there are 135 societies, as against 102 last year. Notwithstanding the war in South Africa, the contributions towards the expenses of the movement have been well maintained. Having regard to the returns received by the executive committee the reporter felt no hesitation in saying that to-day the vast majority of the Jewish nation were in favour of Zionism."
London Times, August 15, 1900.
Late in December, 1900, it was announced at Vienna that the Sultan had issued or renewed a decree, according to which the
Jews are forbidden to remain in Palestine for longer than three months. This measure, which applies both to traders and pilgrims, further prohibits the acquisition by Jews of landed property. It was suggested that the wholesale exodus of Jews from Russia and their recent emigration from Rumania gave rise to the apprehension that they might overcrowd Palestine. This apprehension is said to have been strengthened by the increasing activity of the Zionists, who are suspected in certain circles in Constantinople of pursuing distinct political ends. According to another suggestion, Russia had grown jealous of the Jewish colonization of Palestine, fearing it to be in the interest of German policy, and had used influence to check it.
"Viewed merely on its prosaic side, Zionism is by no means a visionary scheme. The aggregation of Jews in Palestine is only a matter of time, and it is better that they should be aggregated there under their own laws and religion, and the mild suzerainty of the Sultan, than under the semi-barbarous restrictions of Russia or Roumania, and exposed to recurrent popular outbreaks. True, Palestine is a ruined country, and the Jews are a broken people, but neither is beyond recuperation. Palestine needs a people, Israel needs a country. If, in regenerating the Holy Land, Israel could regenerate itself, how should the world be other than the gainer? In the solution of the problem of Asia, which has just succeeded the problem of Africa, Israel might play no insignificant part. Already the colony of Rishon le Zion has obtained a gold medal for its wines from the Paris Exposition, which is not prejudiced in the Jew's favor.
{285}
We may be sure the spiritual wine of Judæa would again pour forth likewise that precious vintage which the world has drunk for so many centuries. And as the unscientific activities of the colonization societies would have paved the way for the pastoral and commercial future of Israel in its own country, so would the rabbinical sing-song in musty rooms prove to have
been but the unconscious preparation of the ages for the Jerusalem University.
"But Palestine belongs to the Sultan, and the Sultan refuses to grant the coveted Judæan Charter, even for dangled millions. Is not this fatal? No, it matters as little as that the Zionists could not pay the millions, if suddenly called upon. They have barely collected a quarter of a million (in English pounds). But there are millionaires enough to come to the rescue, once the charter was dangled before the Zionists. It is not likely that the Rothschilds would see themselves ousted from their familiar headship in authority and well-doing, nor would the millions left by Baron Hirsch be altogether withheld. And the Sultan's present refusal is equally unimportant, because a national policy is independent of transient moods and transient rulers. The only aspect that really matters is whether Israel's face be, or be not, set steadily Zionwards, for decades and even for centuries. Much less turns on the Sultan's mind than on Dr. Herzl's. Will he lose patience? for leaders like Herzl are not born in every century."
I. Zangwill,
The Wandering Jew and the New Century (Sunday School Times, January 12, 1901).
JEWS: A. D. 1899. In Palestine.
"In view of the impetus given the Zionist movement by the second Zionist congress, held at Basel in September, and also by the Palestine journey of Emperor Wilhelm II, the present status of Jews in Palestine becomes a matter of general interest. Out of a total population in Palestine of some 200,000 souls, about 40,000 are Jews, as against 14,000 twenty years ago. In Jerusalem, there are 22,000 Jews, half of whom have immigrated from Europe and America and are called
Asehkenazim to distinguish them from the oriental Israelites, the Sephardists. Nine hundred and sixty families, numbering about 5,000 souls, inhabit the twenty-two Jewish colonies in Palestine which have been founded and subsidized by Europeans ten by Baron Edmond de Rothschild, representing the Alliance Israélite Universelle; the rest by the Jewish Colonization Association and by the Odessa Company.
"The idea of gathering in Palestine homeless Jews scattered all over the globe was championed in the forties by Moses Montefiore, but with indifferent success. In the eighties, however, the immigration of Jews to Palestine assumed significant proportions. Of the twenty-two present colonies, the 'Jacob Memorial' is the largest, supporting more than 1,000 souls. It boasts a graded school (five teachers), a synagogue, etc., and 4,000 acres of land under cultivation, on which are raised fruit (chiefly grapes), honey, and mulberry leaves, the rearing of silkworms being a leading industry. The 'First to Zion' is another quite important colony, owning 2,000 acres of land. Some forty two-storied stone dwelling houses greet the eye of the approaching stranger; also a school house with a Hebrew library, a synagogue, and a hospital. One million five hundred thousand vines and 25,000 olive, almond, orange, and mulberry trees belong to this colony, which also possesses famous wine cellars. The 'Hope of Israel,' a mile beyond Yafa, in the plains of Sharon, is perhaps best known for its agricultural school, in which one hundred or more pupils are taught gardening. Recently, a high school for Jewish girls was established in Yafa. The 'Head Corner Stone,' amid the hills beyond Tiberias, with snow-capped Hermon in the background, is another quite prosperous Jewish colony in Palestine. Being near the source of the Jordan, water is plentiful; and its situation, high up above the level of Lake Gennesareth, insures fair climatic conditions. In the 'Door of Hope,' dairy farming is profitably followed and experiments made in tea planting. This colony is said to have 1,000,000 vines.
"Entirely irrespective of whether or not the Zionists will succeed in awakening in the Jewish people a national spirit and forming a Judean monarchy or republic, with its parliament in Jerusalem and its representation in foreign capitals, the present agitation makes for the development of a country which is but a shadow of its former self, and which will generously respond to modern influences. The Sultan seems quite disposed to grant railway, harbor, and other franchises, and it is possible that the new Jewish Colonial Bank, the organization of which was decided upon in Basel, will be permitted, under certain guaranties, to play an important part in the industrial advancement and growth of Palestine. The movement is furthermore bringing out new qualities in the Jews residing in Palestine. They are no longer content with studying the Talmud and living on charity, but are waking to the fact, as the Hebrew would put it, that to till the ground is worship of God.
"It should not be inferred from statements here made that peace and prosperity have suddenly become the lot of the Jews in Palestine. Only a few days ago, Rev. William King Eddy, of Sidon, returned from beyond the Jordan, and he informs me that a Jewish colony situated not far from El Mzerib (on the caravan route from Damascus to Mekka) was recently attacked by predatory Bedouin tribes. The settlers were all driven away, their gardens and crops destroyed. Even a road built by the Jews to connect their frontier colony with older ones in Galilee, west of the river, was at least partially obliterated. Taxes are more oppressive than ever, officials are corrupt, and prohibitive measures regarding immigration are still in force, although inadequate. I think, however, I am justified in saying that the prospects are brighter than ever for the Jews in Palestine and for Palestine itself. European influence has obtained a foothold in the country, and the tide of modern ideas can not be long debarred. Only four or five weeks ago, an English company announced its
determination to build a broad-gauge railway from the sea at Haifa through the very heart of Samaria and Galilee to Damascus and on to Bagdad, and active operations have already commenced."
G. B. Ravndal,
United States Consul at Beirut
(United States Consular Reports, April, 1899, page 691).
{286}
JEWS: A. D. 1901.
Turkish order regulating visits to Palestine.
A Press telegram from Washington, February 16, 1901, states that "Consul Merrill, at Jerusalem, has reported to the State Department that the Turkish Minister of the Interior at Constantinople has issued an order relative to Jews who visit Palestine, which went into effect on January 29. The order applies to an Jews who come to Palestine from other countries as pilgrims or visitors. The conditions of the order are as follows: On arriving at Joppa the visitor must deliver his passport to the Turkish authorities and receive therefor a Turkish document. The visitor is allowed to stay in the country three months, when he must leave, surrendering the Turkish permit and receiving his own. Foreign consuls are to compel the Jews who overstay the three months' period to leave Turkey."
----------JEWS: End--------
JOAN OF ARC, The Beatification of.
The beatification of Joan of Are, recommended by the Congregation of Rites, at Rome, was pronounced by the Pope, January 28, 1894.
JOHANNESBURG: Origin.
See (in this volume)
SOUTH AFRICA (THE TRANSVAAL): A. D. 1885-1890.
JOHANNESBURG: A. D. 1895-1896. Revolutionary conspiracy of Uitlanders.
See (in this volume)
SOUTH AFRICA (THE TRANSVAAL): A. D. 1895-1896.
JOHANNESBURG: A. D. 1900. Taken by the British forces.
See (in this volume))
SOUTH AFRICA (THE FIELD OF WAR): A. D. 1900 MAY-JUNE).
JOINT HIGH COMMISSION, Anglo-American.
See (in this volume) CANADA: A. D. 1898-1899.
JOLO, The Sultan of.
See (in this volume)
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: A. D. 1899 (MAY-AUGUST).
JONES, Samuel M., Mayor of Toledo.
See (in this volume) TOLEDO, OHIO: A. D. 1899-1901.
JOUBERT, General Pietrus Jacobus: In the South African War.
See (in this volume)
SOUTH AFRICA (THE FIELD OF WAR):
A. D. 1899 (OCTOBER-DECEMBER).
JOUBERT, General Pietrus Jacobus: Death.
See (in this volume)
SOUTH AFRICA (THE FIELD OF WAR): A. D. 1900 (MARCH).
JUBILEE, The Diamond, of Queen Victoria.
See (in this volume)
ENGLAND: A. D. 1897 (JUNE).
JUBILEE OF THE HOLY YEAR 1900, Proclamation of the Universal.
See (in this volume)
PAPACY: A. D. 1900-1901.
JU JU SACRIFICE.
See (in this volume)
NIGERIA: A. D. 1807.
K.
KAFIRISTAN: Its conquest by the Afghans.
See (in this volume)
AFGHANISTAN: A. D. 1896.
KAGAYAN, or CAGAYAN, The American acquisition of.
See (in this volume)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A. D. 1898 (JULY-DECEMBER).
KAIRWAN: Opened to tourists.
See (in this volume) TUNIS: A. D. 1881-1898.
KAISER WILHELM II.
See (in this volume) GERMANY.
KAISER WILHELM SHIP CANAL, The.
See (in this volume)
GERMANY: A. D. 1895 (JUNE).
KAMERUNS, The: Cost of maintenance.
See (in this volume)
GERMANY: A. D. 1809 (JUNE).
KANG YEU-WEI, Chinese reformer.
See (in this volume)
CHINA: A. D. 1898 (JUNE-SEPTEMBER), and after.
KAPILAVASTU, Discovery of the ruins of.
See (in this volume) BUDDHA.
KARNAK, Fall of eleven columns of the temple of.
See (in this volume) ARCHÆOLOGICAL RESEARCH: EGYPT: FALL OF KARNAK COLUMNS.
KASSALA, Italian evacuation of.
See (in this volume)
ITALY: A. D. 1897.
KATIPUNAN, The.
See (in this volume)
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS: A. D. 1896-1898.
KEARSARGE, Loss of the.
The United States cruiser Kearsarge, destroyer of the Alabama, was totally wrecked, February 2. 1894, on Roncadore Reef, off the Mosquito coast, her crew being saved.
KENGI.
See (in this volume)
ARCHÆOLOGICAL RESEARCH: BABYLONIA: AMERICAN EXPLORATION.
KENTUCKY: A. D. 1895-1900. Political conflicts. Assassination of Governor Goebel.
In 1895 a Republican Governor, William O. Bradley, was elected in Kentucky by a majority of nearly 9,000 votes. In 1896 the conflict of political parties became fierce and dangerous, on the occasion of the election of au United States Senator to succeed the Democratic incumbent, J. C. S. Blackburn, whose term would expire March 3d, 1897. On joint ballot in the Legislature the Republicans and Democrats had 68 votes each, and the Populists had 2, the latter thus bolding a balance of power: But the two Populist members were divided, and the Democrats could not act together, owing to the division in their party on the money question. The "sound-money" Democrats refused support to Senator Blackburn, who obtained the caucus nomination of his party for re-election, and their votes were
scattered. The Republicans were united on a candidate, and secured one of the Populist votes, but needed one more to give them a majority. They attempted to win the needed vote by unseating a Democrat in the Lower House whose seat was contested; but the Democrats promptly neutralized their move by unseating two Republicans in the Upper House. The passions excited by the factious contest had by this time become so violent and threatening that in March, 1897, the Governor of the State deemed it necessary to call out several companies of militia to preserve peace at Frankfort. In the end, the Legislature adjourned without electing an United States Senator; but a special session was called and the election accomplished, on the 28th of April, William J. Deboe, Republican, winning the senatorial seat.
{287}
In the following year (1898) the Democrats secured strong majorities in both branches of the Legislature, and, under the lead of Senator William Goebel, passed an election bill which was bitterly denounced as a contrivance for fraud. It created a State election board, appointed by the existing Legislature for four years, which board should name three commissioners in each county, by whom all election and registration officers should be chosen. Notwithstanding this provision of partisan returning officers, the Democrats were so divided on the silver question in the gubernatorial election of 1899, and further weakened by personal hostilities which Goebel, who became their candidate for governor, had stirred up, that the official returns of the election gave William S. Taylor, the Republican candidate, a plurality of more than 2,000 votes over Goebel. There had been fear of riot in Louisville on election day, and the Governor had called out State troops to preserve order. The defeated party claimed that military interference in that city had made the election illegal, and demanded that the returns from Louisville should be thrown out. On both sides there were accusations of fraud, and a
dangerous state of political excitement ensued again. But two of the three members (all Democrats) of the State Board of Election Commissioners decided that Taylor, the Republican candidate, had been lawfully elected, and he was inaugurated Governor on the 12th of December. Goebel and his partisans, refusing to accept the decision, determined to unseat Governor Taylor, by authority of the Legislature, in which they controlled a considerable majority of votes.
The Legislature met and organized on the 1st of January, 1900. The Governor prepared to defend his possession of the office by summoning troops of the State Guard from the strong Republican districts of the mountain region, and 1,000 or more armed men arrived in Frankfort on the 25th. There had been fighting between the two parties already, and the situation now became desperately strained. Some kind of a bloody outcome seemed inevitable, but no one could anticipate the barbarous tragedy which ensued. As Senator Goebel was walking to the state house, on the 30th of January, he was shot from one of its windows, by a hidden assassin, receiving a wound from which he died February 3d. The Legislature at once closed its investigation of the election, and voted to recognize the dying William E. Goebel as Governor, with J. C. W. Beckham as his Lieutenant and the successor to the office in the event of his death. Governor Taylor issued an address to the people of the State, denouncing the murder and enjoining the preservation of order. At the same time he proclaimed an adjournment of the Legislature, closed the State House against it, and summoned its members to reassemble on the 6th of February, not at Frankfort, but at the distant small mountain town of London. Goebel, on his death-bed, took the oath of office, and issued orders dismissing Governor Taylor's Adjutant-General, appointing another in his place, and commanding the force at Frankfort to return to their homes.
The President of the United States was applied to by Governor Taylor for recognition and support, but decided that he had no
authority to interfere. The supporters of Goebel applied with more effect to the Circuit Court of Kentucky, which issued a writ enjoining Governor Taylor from the use of armed force to prevent the Legislature from meeting. A clerk who succeeded in serving the writ by tacking it on the door of the Governor's office was seized and held prisoner by the military, and a writ of habeas corpus requiring his deliverance was disobeyed for several days. All authority was breaking down, and a state of political chaos being produced. To save the State from actual anarchy and civil war, a conference of leaders in both parties was held at Louisville, February 5, and an agreement reached to withdraw troops from the capital, allow the Legislature to meet there, and abide by its action, with promise to repeal the obnoxious election law. Governor Taylor refused acceptance of the agreement. He dismissed the troops, however, on the 12th, and called the Legislature to meet at the capital. The Democratic members of that body were holding meetings at Louisville, the Republican members at London. The latter obeyed the call to Frankfort, while the former continued at Louisville, both fragments claiming to be the Legislature of the State. A petition to the United States Circuit Court, for injunctions against the Democratic claimants for certain of the minor State offices, was denied by Judge Taft on the 14th.
On the 21st, Republican and Democratic leaders came to another agreement, that the gubernatorial question should be settled in the courts, first in those of the State, and then carried by appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States. This agreement prevailed, and the case, as between Governor Taylor and Governor Beckham (declared to be Governor by a majority of the members of the Legislature after Governor Goebel's death) was peacefully adjudicated in favor of the latter. The Circuit Court of the State recognized the Legislature's decision of the election as final; the Court of Appeals, with only one of three Republican judges dissenting, did the same, April 6. On April 30 the case was argued, on appeal, before the Supreme
Court of the United States, and on the 21st of May that tribunal decided that it had no jurisdiction. This ended attempts to dispute the authority of Governor Beckham.
Strenuous efforts were being made to implicate his competitor, Mr. Taylor, as accessory to the murder of Goebel. Several persons had been arrested and put on trial for that crime, including Caleb Powers, the Secretary of State in Governor Taylor's fallen government, from the window of whose office it was claimed that the cowardly shot had been fired. The trials were scandalized by confessions of perjury and charges and counter-charges of subornation on the part of witnesses. In August, Powers was found guilty and sentenced to imprisonment for life. Subsequently, Henry E. Youtsey received the same sentence, while James Howard was condemned to death. Appeals were taken in each case. Mr. Taylor, under indictment as an accomplice, had left the State, and a requisition for his rendition was refused by the Governor of Indiana, where he sojourned. He indignantly denied all knowledge of the alleged conspiracy to kill his competitor, but claimed that a fair trial could not be secured to him if he was placed in the power of his political enemies. {288}
In October, a new election law was passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor. It provides that, of the three State Election Commissioners, one is to be taken from each of the dominant parties, upon the recommendation of the State Central Committee, and the Clerk of the Court of Appeals, an elective officer, is to act as umpire. The Commissioners are to be appointed by the Governor. They are to appoint the county boards, one from each party, with the Sheriff as umpire. All the boards are to have only ministerial powers, and the law gives the right of appeal in all cases of contests to the courts except in the case of Governor and Lieutenant-Governor, which must be tried by the Legislature,
as the constitution prescribes. The Goebel law made the boards supreme. The new law also provides for an equitable division of election officers.
KHAIBAR: Inclusion in a new British Indian province.
See (in this volume)
INDIA: A. D. 1901 (FEBRUARY).
KHALIFA, The.
See (in this volume)
EGYPT: A. D. 1885-1896; 1897-1898; and 1899-1900.
KHARTUM, Destruction of.
See (in this volume)
EGYPT: A. D. 1885-1896.
KHARTUM, Gordon Memorial College.
See (in this volume)
EGYPT: A. D. 1898-1899.
KIANG-HUNG: Cession to France.
See (in this volume)
CHINA: A. D. 1894-1895 (MARCH-JULY).
KIAO-CHAU: A. D. 1897. Seizure by Germany.
See (in this volume)
CHINA: A. D. 1897 (NOVEMBER).
KIAO-CHAU: A. D. 1899.
