For the people think that the masons rule the world... why are they having so much trouble recruiting members now. Part of an article on secret societies I found a while ago:
"Who Controls the British Crown? Who Keeps the Metric System Down?

There was actually a Stonecutter's Guild. The Simpsons wasn't kidding. Well, it was kidding, of course, but there still was a Stonecutter's Guild with roots stretching back to Roman times. During the great era of guilds in Europe several organizations tapped into that tradition. There was a certain nobility and permanence to the stonecutter's art, a romantic balance of arm, heart and brain that could hardly be said of other groups like those of ale brewers. If an organization were to survive the mass extinction of the guilds and take on a new form with the rise of 'fraternal orders', Freemasonry is the most logical choice.

I won't let this slip into a history of Freemasonry or deal with all the speculations about skulking Templar Knights and lizards in human skin. True or false histories of the organization could fill massive volumes of books... and they do. Let us only say that the Masons serve as the most recognizable and practical example of a secret society still existent.

Many fraternal organizations aided in the success of their members simply by allowing them a network by which they could have access to individuals that the common people could not. It is often said that George Washington was advised to become a mason in order to get business contracts. Sound conspiratorial? It is.

It's an ancient fraternal order. An old boys club.

Of course people 'conspired' there for money and power. In days of yore popes and princes would cut deals and marry off their children in an attempt to gain more territory. Today corporations try to wedge themselves into new markets and stamp out competition. Both imperialism and corporate expansionism are reviled by many for their blind greed but neither has attracted such wild speculation or so much absolute suspension of disbelief as secret societies have. Then again, neither of them calls so eloquently to our natural love of mystery and mythos.

I remember standing outside the doors of my public school, no later than grade three, and earnestly discussing the need to develop a secret language with a close friend of mine. I know this experience isn't exclusive to my friend and I. There are others I know who have tried and had varying degrees of success with the same project. We wanted the excitement of being involved in something mysterious. One has to suspect that the lure of secret societies is similar. You get all kinds of fancy rings or robes and participate in mysterious ceremonies before you get drunk. It's a pretty titillating antidote to your oatmeal existence. Of course that very lure is also the thing that fuels the detractors. It's only logical that people will mistrust the unknown. Fraternal orders will suffer slander and suspicion in inverse proportion to the props and playacting they employ. That's why Freemasonry is thought of as more threatening than Shriners for instance. By the time you get to the Oddfellows or Kinsmen club there is virtually no speculation of Satanism or world conquest left. Essentially people see conspiracy and dark dealings because they want to. It's more exciting to ignore an order's charity work and speculate on sinister dealings. The wonderful thing about secret societies is that almost no harebrained accusation can be proven false. If evidence should suggest that a theorist is wildly inaccurate, that theorist need only include the evidence as part of the conspiracy. The only people really qualified to speak out about secret societies are those on the inside... the ones keeping the secrets. Therefore, everyone else has carte blanche to make up whatever theories might benefit or amuse them. In this time of shrinking mythologies, secret societies are second only to aliens (when not in cahoots with aliens) as unattainable mysteries for us to chase, and dream our horrible dreams about.

The Fall from Disgrace

Today the sun is beginning to set on the age of the secret society. In spite of tabloid and celluloid extravaganzas to the contrary, the fraternal organizations have started to peter out. Even the in/famous Freemasons are unable to attract a new generation to the temple. Some may theorize that they're simply going further underground to continue their agenda farther from the prying eyes of the conspiracy kooks, but the fact is that kids today just don't seem all that interested in secret world domination. I blame birth control. (Oh, come on, I get to point a finger too, don't I?) There was a time when drinking in a dark and fusty hall with a bunch of old men and maybe working on funding for the occasional hospital wing was a fitting diversion but these youngsters today, all they want to do is go out with girls. The world is changing again and time is eroding the seemingly insurmountable, all-powerful mythology of the secret society. Now you'd think the groups who clandestinely ruled the world could do something about that, wouldn't you?"

the url is: http://metaball.ca/ball_Sep-06/0906_03.html